Letters from War
by ScarletRedfox
Summary: Winry Rockbell, a succesfull engineer and independent woman, admired and loved by many for her work and her personality. Edward Elric, a hardened soldier deployed at the borders of Drachma and Amestris, partaking in a war he never wished to occur, fighting against people he didn't want to hurt. Put those two together and you have a ticking time bomb...or a beautiful disaster
1. The First Letter

**Letters from War**

Hello everyone! My name is DragonRedfox but please just call me Redfox. Well, this is my first _longer_ story about FMA, longer than one shots anyway, for those of you who have read my collection of one shots "One Shots" fic they know that I transferred the originally meant to be two shot story here. ;) Either way, I hope everyone enjoys it! :)

 **INFO on story:** This is a modern AU, without alchemy, I'm still using landmarks and the general geography of FMA (like Drachma, Amestris, Xing...etc.). Pairings: EdWin, Royai, AlMei, LingFan (Ling & Lan Fan), Greed (separated from Ling's body) & Lena (my own OC), Bradley& (mentioned).

 **Enjoy this one!**

 **The First Letter**

"I really don't know what to do Riza, it's so boring at home! Sure, I work at the shop but..." Winry Rockbell, trailed off, wrapping the curly string of the telephone around one finger.

Feminine laughter echoed at the other line of the phone, a deeper, more mature female voice sounded:" Well, I was sure your work as a mechanic kept things interesting Winry."

Winry sighed, rubbing her head, "It does, it does but...I don't know, I love my job you know that, but I kind of want to try doing something else. You know, something besides my work as a mechanic," Winry pouted, drawing invisible circles on her dark oak desk.

There was a short silence before the woman spoke again, "Why don't you do charity work? Or something along those lines?" one of Winry's oldest friends, Riza Mustang, suggested.

Winry rubbed her chin, thinking for a moment, "Hmm..charity work huh..."

But then Riza had another idea, "Or how about signing up for 'Letters to soldiers'?"

Winry perked up, "Huh? What's that?" Winry rose a fair eyebrow, slightly suspicious since it had the word "soldier" in it, then she suddenly remembered something, "Hey, wait, isn't that what you've mentioned to me before?"

Riza chuckled, "Yes, I've already told you about it. It's a great opportunity to send letters to unknown soldiers overseas, I'm writing Roy letters as well," Winry clenched the phone in her hand.

"Riza...Roy is your husband...that's completely different! And besides, what do I even write about?! I have no idea how to even start a conversation with a guy I don't even know, who is a _soldier_ , who is overseas fighting in a war and who saw things that would normally traumatize a guy!" Winry hollered, rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

Riza giggled at her friend's expanse, "Winry, soldiers miss their home the most. The more you talk about what's currently going on at home gets them interested and happy, you can talk about anything. I know that from experience, when I used to be there on duty I would love to hear about the most banal of things. Calling somebody, writing them or just reminding them that people out there, strangers, actually think of them, gives them the closure they need to continue on fighting. I was very lucky that I had Roy and the others on the battlefield with me," Winry noted the slight sadness in Riza's tone whenever she talked about her time at war.

"Riza, I'm sorry, you know I didn't-" the older woman cut her off softly.

"It's alright Winry, I just want you to know how writing a stranger letters just may save their lives," with that Winry was convinced.

Her parents used to be military doctors and got killed in the war by enemy troops. That was the main reason why she usually wasn't _too_ keen on hearing anything from the military. She didn't mind that some of her friends used to work or are still working for the military, like Riza or her husband Roy, who is currently deployed in Xerxis fighting off rogue troops from Drachma.

Amestris was usually in good terms with Drachma, but a large portion of their military power had defected and declared a sort of private war with Amestris and any other land that opposed them and aided the Amestrians in fighting.

"Winry?" Riza asked over the phone, sounding a bit concerned for her friend who still didn't answer her question.

The blonde woman jumped, startled out of her thoughts as she quickly answered;" Y-yes? Sorry Riza, I was lost in thought for a moment there,"

"It's alright, I asked if you are considering signing up for it?" Riza asked, curious to know Winry's answer, given with her past and strained relations to the military.

Winry remained silent for a moment, twirling the telephone cord around her finger before she bit her lip and answered;" Alright...it couldn't hurt right? Besides, if I'm preventing a soldier who's protecting us from giving up hope and dying then...well, my parent's would have wanted too," she smiled, that fact reassured her at least a little about her bold decision.

"Ah, I see. That's very good, you see, I've already signed you up for it," Riza's voice hinted that she was smiling, calmly, but smiling happily nevertheless.

Winry almost fell off her chair and broke the phone in her hand, "YOU _WHAT?!_ " Winry hollered into the receiver, shocked beyond belief that the former sharpshooter would actually do things behind her back like this. She definitely did grew bolder over the years.

Riza suppressed a giggle, "Why yes, I've talked about it with Roy and we thought it would be a great idea. You've already been assigned a soldier to send a letter to," she said it as if she were talking about the weather.

Winry was certain now...all her friends were crazy.

"B-b-but w-wait! Wait up Riza! I-I can't just, wait a minute! Didn't you need my personal information?! Shouldn't I fill out a form or something?! Or even sign the damn thing?!" Winry exhaled loudly through her nose, feeling her temper rising.

Riza waved it off, "Yes but I've taken the liberty of doing that. It wasn't very difficult to forge your signature, your handwriting is rather simple," Winry flushed bright red at the unintentional insult, before calming down slightly by taking a deep breath.

"Riza...why?" Winry asked helplessly, loudly resting her head against the smooth surface of her oak desk.

The ex sharpshooter's voice turned softer, "I'm worried for you Winry, for the past few years you've done nothing but work and occasionally meet with us. While I do believe that you shouldn't rush yourself into relationships you aren't ready to commit to, I do believe that you could at least try to meet someone new for a change,"

Winry opened her eyes, lifting her face from her desk, "You've been worried about me? But I'm doing fine! Really, I am! You know how busy my line of work can get and sometimes I have to pull all nighters! I meet with you, Mei and Lan Fan regularly! It's not like I'm lonely or anything, besides I've got Den here too," Winry patted the dog's head affectionately, who was wagging his tail and licking his owners hand.

Riza sighed, "Winry...you sound like a old lady I've met whose husband passed away and she surrounded herself with cats and dogs," Winry tried hard not to crumble to the floor.

"Well, anyway, General Grumman said you should send the soldier assigned to you a letter for starters. You should send it today and a reply should come within the week or next week,"

Winry ran a hand over her hair, "Me? B-but...I don't even know what his name is! How am I supposed to write to someone who's name I don't even know?! I don't even know what to write!" Winry groaned loudly, covering her eyes with her hand, Den flattened his ears against his skull at the sound of his owner's whine.

Riza chuckled, "I'm sure you will figure something out, I'll call you tomorrow to see how you are doing. By the way, Mei said that she would love to meet us at the city center tomorrow for a coffee after work,"

Winry sighed and smiled, "Alright, I'll be there."

"I'm sure you will thank me once you get to know your soldier better," Winry was _sure_ Riza was smirking.

"I think Roy is rubbing off on you..." Winry commented with a disturbed look, thinking of the Colonel currently deployed near the border of Drachma and fighting off the enemy troops.

"Perhaps he is. Well then, good night Winry, don't forget to send that letter," Winry sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, good night Riza. No, I won't don't worry," Winry said before she hung up.

She slumped heavily over her desk, exasperated at her friends.

She peeked one eye open to look down at Den, who had his head tilted to the side in confusion, his owner seemed to be in distress.

Winry smiled a small smile and petted him gently on the head, before she stood up and retrieved a piece of paper from her writing desk. She sat down on it and grabbed a pen, chewing on the end of it and thinking of what she should write.

First of all, she had no idea to _whom_ she was even writing to begin with! She knew he must be deployed where Colonel Mustang was, but other than that, she had no idea who he was, what his name was, anything!

How to start a conversation like that?

"This would be a lot easier if we were face to face..." Winry groaned, tapping the end of her pen against her forehead as she wracked her brain for any ideas.

For starters, she wrote the address of the military institution she would send it to, to Central, and her own full name and address on the side as well.

That was solved. Now came the hardest part.

Winry bit her lip, " _Dear..._ " Winry growled, "Dear _who_?! I can't just write _soldier_! What would he think of me?! It would seriously help if I just _knew_ his first name! God!" Winry grit her teeth together, short of just ripping her hair out in frustration.

"Hmm...what to do, what to do...dear what? Sir? No, that's too formal...or is it? I don't know, that guy's a soldier...maybe he's older than me, what if he's as old as Mustang or even older? I have to write sir...but what if he's younger...that would be so awkward coming from me if I'm close to his age...oh damn it..." Winry sighed, slapping her forehead.

"Oh to hell with it!" she threw her hands up in the air and quickly wrote the greeting down before she changed her mind.

 _Dear sir,_

"Aha! There! Now that I solved this what do I..." Winry froze, realizing _now_ came the hardest part of all, "Ugh! I can't believe it! I'll kill Riza for this! Or wait better not...she was a sharpshooter, she could kill _me_ before I lift a finger! She wasn't called the 'Hawk's Eye' for nothing!"

Then again, Riza's maiden name _was_ Hawkeye, so there was that...

"Ugh no! Concentrate Winry! Come on, you can do this...you can do this girl..." Winry took a deep breath, gulped down a large mouthful of milk and got down to business.

 _Dear sir,_

 _Hello._

She slammed her head painfully against her desk before she forced herself to write.

 _Hello, um, I've never done this before so I'm not sure what to write. How are you?_

Winry rolled her eyes at her own stupidity, "Oh yeah, ask the guy who is a soldier and fighting in the middle of a war how he is...great going Winry..."

 _Sorry, that just sounded awkward huh? I never wrote to someone like you, so I guess I'm a little nervous and all. Do you maybe know a man named Roy Mustang? He is a Colonel deployed at the border between Drachma and Amestris. His wife is a really good friend of mine and it was her in the first place who even set me up on this._

Winry stopped writing, "Great going...come on, stop bashing your friend...I sound mean when I write 'set me up on this'...then again, I _was_ forced..." Winry shook her head, continuing to write on the piece of paper.

 _Anyway, I, um, I hope you're doing fine there. I mean, under your conditions there, I hope you're doing fine and not missing a limb or something. Haha!_

"Please shoot me now." Winry groaned.

 _To keep this short, because I'm pretty awkward as you can see, I honestly hope you don't get injured by the time this letter reaches you, or any other time for that matter. Take care alright? Um, sir!_

Winry slapped herself, before a thought hit her. Wait a minute...she didn't know anything about this soldier but that didn't mean he didn't have to know anything about her either! She could at least write a few things about herself!

 _A few things about me so you know who I am:_

 _My name is Winry Rockbell and I'm working at a mechanic shop, I'm the head mechanic there. I live in Resembool, it's a rather small, humble village near the city, but the people here are really nice and sweet. I have a dog named Den._

Wait...how was she supposed to end a letter like that? Winry's eyes widened.

"Nooooo..." she whined, wracking her brain for some answers.

"Sincerely yours" was way too formal, "love" was too personal, and "bye" just didn't seem right...

With a shaking hand, Winry hesitantly wrote down what would finally seal the stupid letter.

 _-Winry._

"Great going genius..." she mumbled to herself, sighing heavily.

Well, at least that was over. Now time to just put it in a envelope and send it.

Winry stood up to do just that, scribbling her address and name on the front of the envelope.

 _2 weeks later..._

"Aaron, I've told you to buy spare parts! Not get them from a junkyard! This car is way too expensive and new to have old and rusty parts in it!" Winry scolded, sighing tiredly at her apprentice, Aaron, who was a few years younger than her.

"I-I'm sorry Miss Winry!" the boy almost saluted her as he quickly threw away the rusty old parts aside and jumped into his car, driving out of the garage and driving towards what Winry assumed was looking for spare parts for the Chevvy.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Winry Rockbell?" the postman who just came a few minutes after Aaron left asked.

Winry turned around, rubbing her hands clean on a semi-clean cloth, "Yes that's me," she looked at the envelope he was holding in his hand.

The mailman smiled, "Ah, I'm glad I found you. You've got a letter, I was told it was of utmost importance and to be delivered immediately to you personally," he handed her the letter with the regally looking military emblem on it.

Winry's blue eyes widened, she gaped like a fish for a few seconds until she quickly looked at the mailman in front of her and shakily said;" A-ah yes, yes! Thank you a lot!" she waved as the man left.

Winry stared at the envelope a while longer, before practically ripping it open.

She quickly scanned the contents before pausing and slowly reading them again, sure she was mistaken.

She wasn't.

The soldier she had written to two weeks ago had actually answered her! Personally!

The letter in her hands shook as she read the first sentence of the letter,

 _Hello ma'am,_

 _Wait... you're a MECHANIC?!_

Winry had the sudden urge to throw a wrench at that soldier.

Today was not her day.


	2. A Mechanic?

**Hi everyone!** I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please let me know what I could do better, concerning either plot or my writing, since English isn't exactly my first language ^^

* * *

 **A Mechanic?**

 _"_ _Excuse me, are you Miss Winry Rockbell?" the postman, who just came a few minutes after Aaron left, asked._

 _Winry turned around, rubbing her hands clean on a semi-clean cloth, "Yes that's me," she looked at the envelope he was holding in his hand._

 _The mailman smiled, "Ah, I'm glad I found you. You've got a letter, I was told it was of utmost importance and to be delivered immediately to you personally," he handed her the letter with the regally looking military emblem on it._

 _Winry's blue eyes widened, she gaped like a fish for a few seconds until she quickly looked at the mailman in front of her and shakily said;" A-ah yes, yes! Thank you a lot!" she waved as the man left._

 _Winry stared at the envelope a while longer, before practically ripping it open._

 _She quickly scanned the contents before pausing and slowly reading them again, sure she was mistaken._

 _She wasn't._

 _The soldier she had written to two weeks ago had actually answered her! Personally!_

 _The letter in her hands shook as she read the first sentence of the letter,_

 _Hello ma'am,_

 _Wait... you're a MECHANIC?!_

 _Winry had the sudden urge to throw a wrench at that soldier._

 _Today was not her day._

* * *

Winry rubbed her forehead in frustration as she read the letter from her mysterious soldier.

 _Hello ma'am._

 _Wait, you're a MECHANIC? Huh...never met a female mechanic before... Did you say Resembool? That's the place I grew up in! I've heard the name Rockbell before but I never knew the military doctors had a daughter...huh, weird._

 ** _Sir_** _? Oh man, do I look eighty to you? I'm in my mid twenties woman, 'sir' makes me feel older than Mustang! Hah,_ _ **know**_ _him, I've traded fists with that pyromaniac before! He's my superior (unfortunately) and he's leading my unit at the border of Drachma. Wait a second...you know his_ _ **wife**_ _? Oh shit, Hawk's Eye?! You know Hawk's Eye and actually LIVE? Wow, remind me to get your autograph once if I return, nobody's ever returned alive after a encounter with her. She has a more fearsome reputation than that idiot husband of hers that's for sure._

 _Ah, that's okay, this thing is new to me too. Haha, I'm fine I guess, what about you? Well, uhh, if it helps any, I didn't really expect for anyone to write to me. I mean, I've heard about the sending letters to soldiers thing but I never really expected for someone to actually send me a letter, then again, I don't think you had much of a option huh?_

 _Right...So, Winry huh? I'm Edward, Edward Elric. I, uhh, I guess I should write some things about me too huh? I bet it's freaky as hell writing to a guy you never met before._

 _As I said, my name's Edward Elric. I'm a Captain working under Colonel Mustang, we are currently fighting off the troops at the border but I think you don't wanna hear that, not a real conversation topper is it? Um, yeah, I'm not very good at this...sentimental stuff, my brother has a better way with words than me, that's for sure. You have a dog named Den? Cool! I always wanted a dog but Al always wanted cats..._

 _Well, I hope I ain't too creepy for the first time writing a letter, like I said, I'm not really good at it. Oh and about the thing with not knowing what to write about? Same here. I actually really miss home, so anything from home goes for me. Even if it's about the newest gossip in town, I don't care._

 _Oh, sorry, duty calls. Uh...I never done this before and I don't really know how to end this sort of thing but uh...reading you soon?_

 _-Captain Edward Elric, at your service!_

Winry couldn't resist the half snort, half laugh that escaped her lips as she read the end.

"So...he's a captain huh?" Winry muttered to herself re-reading the letter again, her right eye twitched in severe annoyance.

"Oh I'm gonna show him what a great mechanic I am! Damn, stupid soldier thinks he's so much better!" Winry grit her teeth, nearly crumbling the letter before she took a calming breath and tucked it into its envelope safely and into her purse. She would reply in the afternoon after work.

 _Afternoon_

Winry furiously tapped the end of her pen against her head, chewing on her bottom lip and tapping her fingers against the polished wood of her desk in distress.

"Hmm...his name is Edward Elric...I've heard of the name Elric before...where did I hear it..." Winry groaned in frustration, her right leg twitching when she heard the doorbell rang. She grudgingly stood up and went to answer the door.

Winry opened the door and was surprised to see Mei, Lan Fan and Riza standing there, each carrying two paper bags in their arms.

Winry's stomach growled when she smelled something delicious in the air, "Hi you guys, what's up?" she rose an eyebrow, slightly miffed at their sudden appearance, not that she wasn't glad to see them either way.

Mei grinned brightly, "Hey Win! We thought to stop by and have dinner together, we heard you had a long shift and thought why not spend some time together?"

Riza and Lan Fan nodded, smiling warmly at Winry. Winry couldn't help but smile back, feeling a warmth in her heart at how sweet and thoughtful her friends were.

"Thank guys, come on in," she opened the door wider and the three women entered the house, taking off their shoes before going to the kitchen to get some plates for their food.

"Oh? Coke huh?" Winry smiled, "A-and wine? Wow, I guess you guys are planning on staying longer?" Winry sweat dropped, scratching the back of her neck.

Lan Fan smiled, "It's a joyous occasion after all, we heard your soldier replied to you today," Winry couldn't help but slap her face.

"Ugh...he's _not_ my soldier, he's just some cocky jerk! Can you guys believe it? He's shocked that _I'm_ a mechanic, because apparently he never met a female mechanic before! Ugh, men," she shook her head, grabbing red wine glasses for each of them and opting to sit on the couch.

As they all unraveled their respective hamburgers and set the bowl of fries in the middle of the rather large round table, the friends started chatting.

"Say, what did he write in that letter?" Riza asked curiously, which made Winry suspicious of the former sharpshooter.

Normally Riza wasn't one to pry but thanks to Winry and Mei, the usually more stoic and closed off woman had opened up to them and was more open about her feelings, the same went for Lan Fan. Though the Xingese martial arts teacher was a tougher nut to crack than Riza, a single mention of _him_ and she would melt like ice in hell. Heh.

"Listen what that...that punk wrote! How rude!" Winry quickly retrieved the slip of paper, clearing her throat and beginning to read it aloud.

" _Hello ma'am! Wait, you're a MECHANIC? Huh...never met a female mechanic before... Did you say Resembool? That's the place I grew up in! I've heard the name Rockbell before but I never knew the military doctors had a daughter...huh, weird. –_ Huh, how rude! As if he never heard of women also doing a man's job! And he even says he comes from Resembool! Why didn't I ever hear anything about him? Why didn't I ever meet him? Resembool isn't that big! Everyone knows everyone!" Winry groaned loudly in frustration, itching to grab a wrench and-

Riza rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Hmm...continue,"

Winry rolled her eyes, " _Sir? Oh man, do I look eighty to you? I'm in my mid twenties woman, 'sir' makes me feel older than Mustang! Hah, know him, I've traded fists with that pyromaniac before! He's my superior (unfortunately) and he's leading my unit at the border of Drachma. Wait a second...you know his wife? Oh shit, Hawk's Eye?! You know Hawk's Eye and actually LIVE? Wow, remind me to get your autograph once if I return, nobody's ever returned alive after a encounter with her. She has a more fearsome reputation than that idiot husband of hers that's for sure."_ Winry rose a eyebrow at her older friend, who looked proud for some reason.

"Uhh...Riza? Just how good were you in military again? I know you were the best in your sharpshooter unit but..." Winry lamely pointed to the letter, itching for answers.

Riza calmly drank her wine, "Hm...it seems that soldier has heard of me and works under Roy in his unit. Well, I was just a rank under Roy while I was still in duty and I was the best among the whole squad if I do say so myself. I've been offered the rank of General many times but I had the impression it wasn't right for me to accept it,"

"WHAT?! But _why_?! Hell, do you know the _salary_ you would have gotten with high a rank such as General!?" Winry shouted, flabbergasted at her friend's decision.

Mei scratched her head, "Yeah, that's pretty odd, Riza. I would have accepted such a position within a second!"

Riza chuckled at her friends, "I've had my fair share of fights and war, Roy will soon achieve his dream, he has already achieved it partially by becoming General himself." She smiled at her friends and Winry was content enough with the answer. She continued to read.

 _"_ _Ah, that's okay, this thing is new to me too. Haha, I'm fine I guess, what about you? Well, uhh, if it helps any, I didn't really expect for anyone to write to me. I mean, I've heard about the sending letters to soldiers thing but I never really expected for someone to actually send me a letter, then again, I don't think you had much of a option huh?_ –He got that right,"

When Winry looked up, she found all her friends glaring at her disapprovingly. She rose a fair eyebrow, "What? What did I say?"

"I think the solider is kind enough, don't you think you're being too harsh on him Winry? I don't think he sounds cocky or bad at all," it was Lan Fan who said this, sipping a bit of her wine.

Winry's eyes almost bulged out in shock, "Wha- _WHAT?!_ ME?! B-but...but _why_? I think he's a jerk!" Winry crossed her arms. Mei suddenly giggled, which promptly received a scathing glare from Winry.

"I think Lan Fan is right, you should go more easy on him. I doubt his situation at the border is sunshine and rainbows so why not ignore his comment about you being a mechanic and instead try to be nice to him?" Mei suggested gently, knowing how temperamental her friend can become.

Winry sighed in defeat, "Fine...maybe I'll not give him a hard time...but I'll still chew him out for that mechanic comment!" with that promise made, she continued.

 _"_ _Right...So, Winry huh? I'm Edward, Edward Elric. I, uhh, I guess I should write some things about me too huh? I bet it's freaky as hell writing to a guy you never met before._

 _As I said, my name's Edward Elric. I'm a Captain working under Colonel Mustang, we are currently fighting off the troops at the border but I think you don't wanna hear that, not a real conversation topper is it? Um, yeah, I'm not very good at this...sentimental stuff, my brother has a better way with words than me, that's for sure. You have a dog named Den? Cool! I always wanted a dog but Al always wanted cats..."_ when she finished reading, Mei was gripping Lan Fan's arm so tightly that the martial arts teacher tried to pry her friend off of her without injuring the shorter female.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Mei almost screeched, causing Winry to jump and Riza to raise a eyebrow in question at the bubbly girl's sudden behavior.

"DID HE JUST SAY AL?! DID HE SAY HIS NAME WAS EDWARD **_ELRIC_**?!" Winry nodded mutely, holding the letter in front of her as a shield in case the Xingese woman suddenly turned crazy and attacked her.

"I KNOW HIS BROTHER ALPHONSE! HE'S MY BOYFRIEND!" Mei gushed happily, suddenly transforming into a puddle of goo on the couch at the mere mention of her boyfriend. Lan Fan calmly drank her wine, already used to her friend's random outbursts about her boyfriend.

Then again, Winry or the others may have never seen Alphonse in person, from the stories Mei has told them, he was a really sweet and kind man. Winry asked a few times that how comes such a kind soul like Alphonse would even join the military, Mei would always reply it was to keep an eye on his older brother, who obviously had a penchant for getting into trouble.

"So...how is Edward Elric then?" Winry leaned in, intrigued.

Mei smirked, "Oh wouldn't you like to know," she snickered at Winry's frown, " Well...actually, I never met his brother since he applied to the military sooner than Alphonse did. But from what I heard from Alphonse, he said he was the best brother in the whole world! He had a fiery temper, but was very kind and sweet. He also told me he was a bit closed off, due to having lost their mother at a young age and estranged from their father. I met his father, he was really nice. Alphonse said, that he and Edward have a rocky relationship," Mei mused, a finger on her chin.

Winry pondered the information silently, leaning back in her couch, eyes scanning the letter.

"So, will you write to him back? I hope so," it was Riza who said this, leaning in slightly towards Winry, tearing the younger woman from her thoughts.

"Oh, I uhh...y-yeah I guess." Winry remained silent and when she looked up, she almost jumped at how close her friends were to her face, "K-knock it off guys!"

The women leaned back, sighing heavily.

Lan Fan wondered aloud, "Why not ask him how he looks like? Maybe he looks similar to Alphonse, it would make sense considering they are brothers,"

Winry blinked, "I-I'm not going to ask him that! He will think I like him or something! Uh..." she looked at Mei, "By the way, Mei, how does Alphonse even look like?"

Mei blinked in confusion for a few minutes, then it hit her, she never actually told them how he looked like!

Mei scrambled through her pockets to search for her phone, "A-ah, I'm sorry! I'll show you guys a picture!"

She quickly scrolled through her gallery and in a relatively short time, found the picture she was looking for.

"Here it is!" she proudly flashed the screen of her phone at her friends, showing them a tall, golden haired man standing next to Mei, an arm around her shoulders, a adorable blush on his cheeks as she went on tip toes to kiss his cheek, he was clad in a white dress shirt and simple black pants, smiling brightly despite his shyness. It was a picture of cuteness.

"How cute! You guys are so cute!" Winry gushed, smiling.

Riza nodded her approval, "Yes, Alphonse is quite the handsome boy," she winked at Mei, whose cheeks began to heat up.

Lan Fan smiled softly.

"Wait..." Winry narrowed her eyes to see better, "Does he have... _golden eyes_?!" her own blue eyes widened.

Mei looked at the screen then at her friend, "Oh yeah, he does. Didn't I ever tell you? Sorry! That's in the family. His father also has golden eyes. I love his eyes!" Mei fawned over the picture, rubbing it against her cheek and kissing Alphonse's face on it.

Winry shook her head at her friend's actions, "Wow...I never saw a person with gold eyes before...I wonder if his brother also has them..."

All the women, minus Winry, wiggled their eyebrows suggestively at the blond, who batted them away like annoying flies, her face turning an interesting color of pink.

"Read the letter till the end! Come on!" Mei cheered, excited for the ending.

Winry rolled her eyes and with a sigh, continued reading:" _Well, I hope I ain't too creepy for the first time writing a letter, like I said, I'm not really good at it. Oh and about the thing with not knowing what to write about? Same here. I actually really miss home, so anything from home goes for me. Even if it's about the newest gossip in town, I don't care. Oh, sorry, duty calls. Uh...I never done this before and I don't really know how to end this sort of thing but uh...reading you soon? -Captain Edward Elric, at your service!"_ Winry snorted again at the ending, rolling her eyes.

"That was nice! I think he's a bit shy too! 'Reading you soon' so romantic!" Mei cupped her blushing cheeks, living off in La La Land, ignoring Winry's vehement protests.

"That's _not_ romantic!" Winry growled.

"Why don't you write him now?" Riza asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Winry crossed her arms, holding the letter oddly protectively in her hand, "No, I will reply once you are out of my house. I'm not dumb to start writing with you match makers right here!" she huffed.

All the women laughed, playfully bantering with each-other throughout late in the night.

* * *

As the women excused themselves and bid Winry a good night, the blonde closed and locked her door, slumping against the hard wooden surface of it tiredly.

She yawned, looking at the clock.

 _12:00 am huh?_

She stretched her arms above her head, spotting the letter sitting innocently on her writing desk.

"Well...I guess it isn't too late to reply," with that thought in mind, Winry grabbed a pen, a new piece of paper, and began to write.

 _Hi Edward,_

Winry rose an eyebrow, testing his name again aloud. It rolled off her tongue nicely. She liked it. She continued writing.

 _Wait, you grew up in Resembool too? And do_ _ **I**_ _look eighty to you?! Stop calling me ma'am! It makes me feel old! Mid-twenties huh? I'm_ _ **25**_ _years old in case you're wondering! I'm not that old yet!_

 _Oh wow, really? Yeah, Riza is a good friend of mine. I've met Mr. Mustang on occasion. You make Riza sound like a monster! She's really nice! Maybe a bit rough around the edges at times, but still very nice and kind! Unlike you! Pff, asking me if I really were a mechanic! Of course I am! I wouldn't lie about my profession!_

Winry furrowed her eyebrows.

 _I'm fine...thanks. A bit tired, it's 12:00 am here and yeah...why would you think that? I'm sure a couple of people wrote letters to you before, it's true I didn't get to choose but..._

She stopped. Should she really write that?

 _I guess you aren't a bad guy._

She face palmed. How old was she? Six?

 _W-what I mean is, I just don't understand how you never got a letter, that's all. Never mind._

Winry had to giggle at what she wrote next, a smile playing on her lips.

 _Creepy? Maybe. Well, I don't know how you look like or what you're like, but I guess you're nice enough. If it helps any, I know Mei Chang, I think you know her, she's the girlfriend of your brother Alphonse. I can't believe your brother has golden eyes! Do you have them too? They're amazing!_

"Oh god! I sound like a fan girl!" Winry slammed her forehead against the desk, "Should I rewrite it? Or maybe just leave it? I hope he won't notice it too much," she whined, opting to simply leave it and pray that he won't focus too much on it.

 _Right, well, I wouldn't mind hearing how it is on your side. I doubt you have much time to talk about it, so I would be happy to help with that. I don't know much about the military, or what soldiers actually do once they are in the middle of the battlefield. Do they just lurk behind bushes and wait to shoot their enemy? Or do they keep making plans on how to gain the upper hand? Sorry, maybe I'm watching too many movies. Den and I watch them together and he mostly falls asleep before I do._

Winry covered her mouth, as if she vocally said the words she just wrote. Did that sound too...desperate? Lonely? Was this ok to write? Was she exaggerating? Winry rubbed her hands down her face in frustration, running another hand through her hair, "Ugh...I can't believe writing letters is this hard..."

Winry bit her bottom lip, looking up at the ceiling, trying to think of what to write next. Her eyes lit up in excitement when she suddenly remembered a detail he wrote in his letter.

 _Wait! You said you were a captain right? How is it? Being captain I mean? It's a bit below General right? Do you also command the unit or give out orders? And with whom are you in the team? I'm sorry for asking so many questions, I guess I'm curious since I never actually talked, or wrote, to a soldier before._

Winry took a deep breath.

 _Since you mentioned gossip, do you by any chance know a Robert Windmill? He was boy, well man now, that lived a few houses down from where I lived. I heard he proposed to another woman yesterday! He was usually known to rush things far too quickly with any girl he's been out with, me included, unfortunately... I saw no harm in going out with him once, and he seemed nice enough...yeah...then he went down on one knee and proposed to me before I tried to flee inside my house! Can you believe that? He broke down into tears when I rejected him and called him crazy! Then he well...err...he got into the hospital...sorta... I sort of hurled a wrench at his head when he was being clingy so...yeah.._

Winry blushed, not understanding _why_ she just wrote that embarrassing moment and just hoped that Edward wasn't a jackass and wouldn't tease her too badly about it.

 _Anyway, I hope you're safe there! Reply soon okay? I don't really know how to end letters either but umm...read you soon?_

 _-Winry._

She sighed loudly in relief, slumping back in her chair heavily and staring up at the ceiling.

She felt something warm and moist on her fingers and when she looked down, she saw Den affectionately licking them. She smiled and petted his furry head, making him wag his tail happily and coming closer to her, nuzzling his snout against her hip.

She giggled, "Not easy being a human huh Den? Well, what do you know, you don't have to send letters to a soldier you never saw before..." she sighed, looking at her letter.

With a burst of confidence, which might have come from the bit of wine she had earlier, she kissed the corner of the letter, a good luck charm of sorts. She only hoped he wouldn't get the wrong idea.

With a burning hot face, Winry stuffed the letter into the envelope, scribbled down the address and raced outside into the cool night air.

She resolutely stuffed it, almost violently so, in the mail box, running back inside the house, locking the door and slumping against it, her heart beating a little faster.

Winry blamed it on the wine and her stupid friends.

And the stupid soldier with the maybe-golden eyes.

 **Reviews are always kindly appreciated! Let me know what I can improve! Thank you all for reading! :)**


	3. A Shift in View

**INFO on the chapter:** Interesting (or maybe not?) fact, I named this chapter "A Shift in View" because this chapter will be told from Ed's POV (Point of view) and not Winry's this time, which means we will get quite interesting insight on how he first reacted to her letter and of course the second one! ;)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Bloodynessie:** haha Thanks so much! I sure will and thank you for reading and reviewing my story! :)

 **Panic:** (looks left and right) Uhh...I didn't mention that before? Oh...eheh, sorry about that ^^. Well, English is actually my second language (but one that I cherish the most and always try to improve), I'm actually from Croatia (scratches head) I'm used to the reactions by now, but I'm still embarrassed every time, most people think I'm from Canada or somewhere from the US. (sweat drop) (sighs) Ugh, stupid commas, thank god you never saw my first, and I mean, FIRST story ever, oh god...commas basically didn't EXIST in it. I'm still trying to improve that .

 **Anonymous J:** haha Hi there. Thanks so much girl! Haha well it's croatian actually (sweat drop) Most people think I come from Canada or somewhere from the US (laughs) It's always amusing seeing their shocked expressions when I tell them from where I actually am :3 Damn...I was sure I mentioned it one time or another. What did you think from where I came from? Hahah Same to you, good luck with all exams and school in general! ;)

 **Penguin20:** (sweat drop) Oh man, I seriously thought I mentioned it at least once! Well uhh..yeah..eheh, English is actually my second language, third being German...etc. My first is actually croatian ^^

 **Daughterofapollo12345:** hahaha Thank you so much, honestly! :3 It's actually my second, my first one is croatian (sweat drop) Sheesh, so many people think I'm Canadian or American it's crazy . But I love the reactions when I tell them from where I'm from and they go like this: O.O, -.0, :O...etc. haha ^,^ hahaha Thanks bro ;) I've been mistaken for many things lol but I never once was mistaken for a Brit...well, british is actually the only one where I can't really get the hang of . I simply have that Canadian/American accent (shrugs)

 **Omg:** Thanks for reading! haha Thank you a lot for the compliments, I'm glad you like it! :3

 **Guest:** Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you enjoy my story so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter too! :)

* * *

 **A Shift in View**

A soldier in training ran passed various training exercises, jumping over a unconscious soldier which was stupidly sprawled on the ground, jeez, just _who_ gets drunk after a battle? Well, he wouldn't know, he was still in training, but he suspected getting drunk either way while in war wasn't a good idea.

He hurriedly walked towards a large tent, one of the larger ones among the rest, designed to hold about five till six people in it, give or take two.

Carefully, hesitantly, feeling his heart beat rapidly now that he was _so close_ to soldiers he himself could only ever dream of becoming one day, the soldiers stationed here, they were top dog, quite the fearsome foes and high on the ranks too, nobody dared to ruffle their feathers without a _very_ good reason.

Mustering his courage, the soldier trainee lifted one end of the flap over his head, peeking inside the dimly lit tent, spotting all the soldiers lounging either on their bunk beds, on the floor or one sat at a desk, appearing to be writing something but he couldn't be too sure.

He cleared his throat loudly, but only two of them turned their heads to acknowledge his presence, one had golden-blonde hair from what he could see, red hues appearing on its surface as the soft, warm glow of the petroleum lamp lightened the tent. The second was a Xingese soldier, dark hair tied into a loose pony tail at the back of his neck.

He felt very awkward now, "Um, excuse me to interrupt but-" before he could utter another word, the man that was sitting next to the Xingese soldier suddenly turned around and the trainee gulped audibly.

Fierce violet-red eyes bored into him, feeling like they could throw hot daggers at him any minute and scourge his eyes out by his glance alone, he clicked his tongue, his tone annoyed and feisty, "We heard ya the first time you shuffled your way toward here, kid, no need to make your presence more obvious by sounding like a dying frog," the man, who looked oddly identical to the Xingese soldier, narrowed his eyes, growling.

The trainee suddenly felt the instinct to flee, flee as far away from this tent as possible, this soldier looked like he would kill him simply for even stepping foot into their tent.

"Let it go Greed, try not to be an ass to everyone just because someone messed up your hair," the soldier who had been sitting at the desk, writing something apparently, drawled, voice deep but not too much and masculine, though the voice of that Greed character was deeper.

The solder sitting at the desk stood up to his full height and the trainee felt very cornered suddenly, he was taller than himself, what should he _do_? When the man turned around however he was met with striking golden eyes, coupled with golden hair-

Wait a minute...

Gold hair? Golden eyes? A shine suddenly caught the trainee's eye and he swallowed hard when he caught glimpse of something sleek peeking out from the soldier's gloves-

"Do you need something?" the man had come closer now, definitely a good head, maybe even a head and a half, taller than himself.

Broad shoulders stretched over a dark sleeves shirt, prominent muscles accentuated by it, a plain white shirt draped over his shoulders, hiding his well muscled arms. A dog tag was resting idly on the soldier's broad chest and the trainee had enough light to just make out what it said.

 _'_ _Don't forget 3. October'_

The trainee rose an eyebrow in question, thinking it may be a holiday or birthday before the soldier before him cleared his throat, gold eyes piercing his scared, brown ones.

"U-Uh, I-I'm sorry! My apologies, sir, c-captain! I w-was tasked to bring you this letter!" the soldier's shaky hand held out the envelope, the military's emblem on the front, signing it as important and his hands only.

The soldier rose an eyebrow before surprised recognition alighted in his eyes, taking the envelope from the soldier with his gloved hands.

The soldier relaxed slightly when he noticed the older male was focused on the envelope, as if it held some prized, secret information nobody but him was privileged to know and he had finally gotten the answers he-

"Is that all?" the man fixed his gold eyed stare at him again and it was all the trainee could do not to collapse to the ground with his shaking, weak knees.

"Y-y-yes, sir! H-have a good night sir!" he saluted stiffly, shoulders straight and taut, before he briskly left the tent, speed walking like the wind.

The blonde man rose an eyebrow but shrugged, before he turned around.

Four pairs of eyes were intently trained on him and three wickedly grinning idiots to boot, one was his brother, who looked rather...mischievous and far too cheeky for his taste.

" _What_?" he growled out, gritting his teeth when their curious stares flickered to the envelope he was holding.

"So...that chick wrote you again? Pretty quick if you ask me, how long has it been? Four days?" Greed's voice was far too teasing and the man would have punched his jaw in if he were in the mood for it.

His superior wiggled his eyebrows, "Oho, I see. How fortunate, while you were still a civilian you couldn't get a girlfriend to save your life, but now that you're a soldier you're suddenly spoken for? How charming," he could wipe off that smug smirk on his superior's face right about now.

He felt himself flush involuntarily, despite his fight for control to fight down any outward reaction to show that he was affected by the far-too-early-received-letter.

He murmured something under his breath as he roughly pushed his superior's legs aside, off the bed to sit near the light. Before he opened the letter though he sent daggers at his comrades, "You _mind_?"

Greed, it seemed didn't want to understand and leave him be, he just stood up and plopped down behind him, grinning devilishly, his eyes trained on the piece of paper, "Not at all, continue",

The golden haired man rolled his eyes in annoyance, figuring he wouldn't get any privacy either way, so he opened the sealed letter.

Once he opened it fully to see the neat handwriting Ed smiled, so she had written him back, quite soon too.

Winry Rockbell.

The woman he had received the first letter from a little less than a month ago.

* * *

 _Flashback_

"Excuse me, Captain Elric?" a Lieutenant strolled into the room where the soldiers were stationed at, standing straight and tall, hand poised at his forehead in a salute.

The golden haired man looked up, arching an eyebrow, "Yes?" he questioned, blinking in surprise when the soldier held out a white sealed envelope to him, the military emblem on it, imposing, powerful, as if a threat and a invitation at the same time. He took it curiously.

He turned it over, clearly caught off guard at having received a letter from the office.

He looked up at the Lieutenant he received it from, a question in his golden gaze, the Lieutenant cleared his throat and answered his superior's unspoken question, "I've been told to deliver it to you, your eyes only, it's very important Captain," he saluted again.

Captain Elric blinked before he saluted as well and said, firm and clear, "Thank you, you are dismissed Lieutenant," the Lieutenant saluted again and strolled out of the room.

The Captain stared for a while longer at the letter, before his superior, General Roy Mustang himself, asked from his position at his desk, "What is it Edward?"

Edward Elric shook his head, turning the envelope to open it, "I don't know, I didn't expect any mail and I didn't hear anything being amiss at Amestris," dread filled him, fearing for the worst as he carefully unfolded the letter.

He read it aloud, thinking his superior would need to hear it as well, if it were matters of the military, " _Dear sir, hello. Sorry, that just sounded awkward huh? I never wrote to someone like you, so I guess I'm a little nervous and all. Do you maybe know a man named Roy Mustang? He is a Colonel deployed at the border between Drachma and Amestris. His wife is a really good friend of mine and it was her in the first place who even set me up on this.'_ Wait a minute, what is this?" Ed's golden eyes narrowed, scanning the whole letter, spotting no name of the sender or even an address, just from the military.

Roy rose an eyebrow, intrigued, hiding a smirk beneath his gloved hand, "I see, well I have no idea about this, perhaps it is someone you know?" he smirked.

Edward rose an eyebrow, "Well, it doesn't sound like they know _me_. And they know your wife? Hawk's Eye? Just who is this guy?! Was he in the unit with you? A buddy from the old days? Why is he writing to me? Wait...maybe something happened back home?" Ed quickly read the rest of it.

"' _Anyway, I, um, I hope you're doing fine there. I mean, under your conditions there, I hope you're doing fine and not missing a limb or something. Haha! To keep this short, because I'm pretty awkward as you can see, I honestly hope you don't get injured by the time this letter reaches you, or any other time for that matter. Take care alright? Um, sir! A few things about me so you know who I am:_

 _My name is Winry Rockbell and I'm working at a mechanic shop, I'm the head mechanic there. I live in Resembool, it's a rather small, humble village near the city, but the people here are really nice and sweet. I have a dog named Den. Winry-"_ Ed's mouth hung open, closing and opening several times, looking like a fish on dry land.

Roy snickered behind his hand, pretending to look at some files, the expression on Elric's face was priceless, "I don't think it's a " _he_ ," he grinned impossibly wide.

Edward didn't pay his superior any mind, re-reading the letter several times in rapid succession.

"W-wha...why is a woman writing to me? A woman I don't know? And why does she know your wife and you, you pyromaniac?!" Ed growled, feeling his eyes drawn to the letter again after glaring at Mustang.

Roy just grinned, "Hmm...Winry...ah yes, of course, I've heard of the lovely young lady. She's a dear old friend of Riza's you see, they meet regularly whenever they can." His grin widened when he saw how perplexed the Captain looked like.

"But why is she writing me?" Edward was confused beyond belief, turning the letter upside down as if the answers would magically fall from its depths.

Roy pretended to search through some files, "Hm...it does seem very odd. Perhaps she has enlisted in the "Letters to Soldiers" program?" at the mention of the familiar program that every soldier has been dutifully informed of, Edward suspiciously looked at his superior.

"...Aren't you overseeing that?" gold eyes narrowed.

General Mustang seemed oblivious, a tad _too_ oblivious, "Me? Why yes, yes, I think I am. The position of General is so tiring you see...so many duties," he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head leisurely.

"Uh-huh..." he rested his forearms on his legs, deadpanning;" Alright, spit it out Mustang, what the hell are you hiding? You only talk so formal and screwed whenever you try to hide one of your weird plans again," there was a sinking feeling in the soldier when Mustang remained quiet.

"Fullmetal...don't you have anything better to do than drill me for answers?" a wicked gleam lightened up the General's expression, "...like writing to your girlfriend?" he grinned like a Cheshire cat. Edward exploded, leaning over the desk and trying to strangle his superior, Roy tried pulling on his golden hair.

"You stupid pyro! What the hell did ya do?! Are you setting me up old man?!" Ed growled, ducking away from Mustang's grabbing hands.

" _Old man_?! I'm in my forties you runt!" Mustang grappled with Ed like that until somebody cleared their throat from right behind them.

" _Ahem!_ " a deep, masculine voice cut through the air, making the two comrades freeze and immediately disentangle from each-other.

Ed and Roy were as straight as candles, but when they noticed just _who_ was standing there, they relaxed, Ed exhaled, "Ugh...Greed, give us a warning next time, we thought it was Bradley or somethin'," Ed tried to calm his frantically beating heart.

The man grinned, violet eyes alight with mirth, "I heard blonde's got a letter from his girlfriend?"

Ed rubbed at his forehead in exasperation, "Greed...don't you have anything better to do?" he shot him a dark look.

The soldier suddenly grinned, whipping out a similar letter to the one Ed held, "Sure I do, I got a letter from _my girlfriend_ and she sent me a picture!" Greed shoved the picture right at Ed and Roy's face, "Look at her! She's so gorgeous! I'm the damn luckiest man to have her, no other woman is better than my woman, I only get the best after all!" he laughed, nuzzling the letter and behaving very much like a certain someone they knew.

At the thought of his best friend, Roy snickered and commented with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, "Well, Greed, you do quite remind me of someone I know..." Greed blinked before he crossed his arms with a snort.

"Heh, Hughes' a pansy, constantly fawns over his daughter and his wife, I at least got some self control old man," Greed pointedly pocketed the picture in his breast pocket of his open uniform.

Roy sighed, "Why is everyone calling me 'old man' lately..."

Edward shook his head, storing the letter in his jacket pocket to read it in peace and answer the woman.

* * *

"Well? Watcha waiting for? Read it! Aloud!" Greed shouted in his ear, impatiently staring down at the letter in Ed's hands.

Ed's right eye twitched in annoyance, "Don't push it Greed," he growled, before clearing his throat and drawing his attention to the letter in his hands, eager to see what his pen friend had wrote.

 _Hi Edward,_

 _Wait, you grew up in Resembool too? And do_ _ **I**_ _look eighty to you?! Stop calling me ma'am! It makes me feel old! Mid-twenties huh? I'm_ _ **25**_ _years old in case you're wondering! I'm not that old yet!_

Greed cut suddenly in, "Quite the spitfire," he grinned, Ed elbowed him.

 _Oh wow, really? Yeah, Riza is a good friend of mine. I've met Mr. Mustang on occasion. You make Riza sound like a monster! She's really nice! Maybe a bit rough around the edges at times, but still very nice and kind! Unlike you! Pff, asking me if I really were a mechanic! Of course I am! I wouldn't lie about my profession!_

Roy suddenly started laughing, "You called my wife a monster Elric? Well...I can't speak the untruth but I suppose Riza can be very...assertive when she wants to be," Roy shifted, a bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face at the memory of forgetting to bring out the trash and suffering three bullets very close to his vital parts. Roy swallowed, hard.

 _I'm fine...thanks. A bit tired, it's 12:00 am here and yeah...why would you think that? I'm sure a couple of people wrote letters to you before, it's true I didn't get to choose but..._

 _I guess you aren't a bad guy._

 _W-what I mean is, I just don't understand how you never got a letter, that's all. Never mind._

Ling suddenly snickered, having sneaked in under Greed's arm and up to Ed's shoulder to read too, Ed growled and punched him, shoving the two brothers away from him, "Get the hell off my back!"

Al smiled and chuckled, "Did you hear that brother? She thinks you aren't a bad guy and she stayed up until twelve just to write the letter! I think that is very sweet of her...don't you think?" his younger brother adopted that cat-like smirk again with those all too knowing-creepy eyes. Ed mumbled something under his breath and pressed the letter closer to his face.

 _Creepy? Maybe. Well, I don't know how you look like or what you're like, but I guess you're nice enough. If it helps any, I know Mei Chang, I think you know her, she's the girlfriend of your brother Alphonse. I can't believe your brother has golden eyes! Do you have them too? They're amazing!_

Ed stopped reading, frozen at what he had just read. She...she liked his eyes? She liked the color of his eyes?

"Oh she knows Mei! She must be the same Winry that Mei has talked about many times! How I miss her! I wonder how she is...brother, when you write back to your girlfriend, could you ask her how Mei is doing?" Al asked innocently, fully absorbed in the thoughts of his girlfriend to notice his brother's murderous stare.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! KNOCK IT OFF!" Ed waved his fist, his dog tag jiggling with the motion. Greed and Ling fist bumped discreetly, whistling lowly.

Ed calmed down, reluctantly, and continued reading the letter, despite his severe annoyance at his friends, his mood considerably lifted at the knowledge that she liked his eyes.

 _Right, well, I wouldn't mind hearing how it is on your side. I doubt you have much time to talk about it, so I would be happy to help with that. I don't know much about the military, or what soldiers actually do once they are in the middle of the battlefield. Do they just lurk behind bushes and wait to shoot their enemy? Or do they keep making plans on how to gain the upper hand? Sorry, maybe I'm watching too many movies. Den and I watch them together and he mostly falls asleep before I do._

Ed laughed, finding it amusing how she speculated on what they actually did. He wasn't anything close to a ladies' man or anything alike, so he figured that women generally didn't take a liking to the military or anything connected to it. But this woman surprised him, she _wanted_ to hear how he was fairing, what was happening. Wait...

"Who's Den?" Roy, Greed, Ling and Al asked almost simultaneously, leaning in closer to Ed.

Ed was at a loss for words. Den...who was Den? Her boyfriend? Friend? Brother?

"Maybe her boyfriend?" Greed supplied _very_ helpfully.

"Maybe her husband?" Roy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Her brother?" this time Al added in and that was the last straw.

Ed roared loudly, "Would you guys shut up?! I don't care!"

Greed bored his finger right at Ed's cheek, "HA! Look at that little green monster! Look at him!" he grinned evilly as he pinched Ed's cheek before Ed swung at him with his fist.

"Stop touching me! And stop calling me small!" Edward was sensitive about his height, enough said about that.

 _Wait! You said you were a captain right? How is it? Being captain I mean? It's a bit below General right? Do you also command the unit or give out orders? And with whom are you in the team? I'm sorry for asking so many questions, I guess I'm curious since I never actually talked, or wrote, to a soldier before._

 _Since you mentioned gossip, do you by any chance know a Robert Windmill? He was a boy, well man now, that lived a few houses down from where I lived. I heard he proposed to another woman yesterday! He was usually known to rush things far too quickly with any girl he's been out with, me included, unfortunately... I saw no harm in going out with him once, and he seemed nice enough...yeah...then he went down on one knee and proposed to me before I tried to flee inside my house! Can you believe that? He broke down into tears when I rejected him and called him crazy! Then he well...err...he got into the hospital...sorta... I sort of hurled a wrench at his head when he was being clingy so...yeah.._

Everyone but Greed and Ling groaned, the two brothers looked around confused, blinking, "Uhh...so who's Robert Windmill?"

"Only the worst and hopeless flirt ever!" Ed scoffed, rolling his eyes, "The guy flirted with anything with two long legs and a pulse! Hell, he got on my nerves! Heh, seems like he flirted with Winry too!" Ed suddenly grinned, eyes alight with mirth and something akin to pride, "And she got him with a freaking wrench! Gotta be handy to be a mechanic huh?"

Roy hid his smirk behind his fist, "Well, seems like someone is jealous?" his superior wiggled his eyebrow's, grinning like the devil when the blonde almost blushed.

"Shut up! I don't even know her! I just feel pity for any woman that fell prey to Windmill's pathetic flirt attempts," he ignored the suggestive looks and cat calls from his buddies, opting to finish reading the letter aloud.

 _Anyway, I hope you're safe there! Reply soon okay? I don't really know how to end letters either but umm...read you soon?_

 _-Winry._

Ed found himself a bit disappointed that the letter already finished, but he carefully masked his expression so his _very understanding_ and _supportive_ friends didn't butt into his business every five seconds!

"What? That's it? Not even some sexy little photo? No?" Greed scoffed, scratching his head.

Ed growled, "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

Greed narrowed his eyes, "Course I do! And her photo's are to die for!" he stuck his tongue out childishly to Ed, who rolled his eyes.

"...Where are those photos?" Roy Mustang asked, peeking innocently over to Greed.

He was met with a murderous, wary stare, "If you even dare setting one foot in _my_ bunk, I _will_ gladly go in prison for murdering my superior," Roy backed away, not doubting at all that the man was capable of doing that.

He was like his best friend Maes Hughes in that respect, loved his girlfriend to bits and pieces, like Hughes did to his little girl and his wife.

Meanwhile, Ed quietly slipped away, grabbing pen and paper, the letter and disappearing outside while his friends argued inside.

The only one who saw him was his brother, who had a knowing look in his equally gold eyes.

Alphonse shook his head, smiling.

"Alright, how do I start this..." Ed gnawed on the rubber end of his pencil, mind swimming with ideas and suggestions for writing, but none of them seemed good enough.

He remembered how interested she was in his eyes, maybe he should send her a photo? Or was that too forward? Was it too soon? They just sent each-other three letters after all...

But writing that he had gold eyes would be stupid right? Seeing the real thing would be better...then again if Mei was her friend, then surely she must have seen pictures of Al and his eyes. Then he wouldn't have to send her a picture right? Or did he?

Ed remained motionless, until pen and paper sprawled to the ground and he violently started to tear at his golden mane, growling and shouting at no one in particular, stomping his army boots against the ground.

He sighed, calming down slowly and picking up his paper and pen again. He rested his chin against his fist and thought.

Hard.

Nope. Nothing.

Well damn. Edward ran a hand through his hair, the cold yet familiar feeling of his other hand pressed briefly against his warm scalp before falling away to rest on his knee.

He looked at it, looked at the white glove covering the surface. He closed it, felt the familiar hard ridges, he closed his other hand, feeling the softness and firmness of his flesh.

He closed his eyes and thought. His fist shook, his leg tapping against the ground as his head filled with memories of the past.

* * *

 _Flashback, War between Ishval and Drachma_

Silently, he crept up a few feet away enemy barracks, gun in hand and loaded, gold eyes narrowed as he monitored every silent movement.

There was a brief crunching sound and when the blonde haired soldier tried to turn around, he was face to face with the familiar barrel of a weapon, an AK-47.

Damn it.

Slowly, he lifted his hands, setting his medic kit on the ground next to him, the soldier pointing the gun at him snickered, "Well, well, well, lookie here. A medic from Amestris, you look familiar boy, those gold eyes and hair, are you Fullmetal?" the gun before him bounced once, aimed at the crease between his eyes.

He swallowed and carefully chose his words, "Why don't you ask him yourself?" the older soldier rose an eyebrow, hands tightening warily onto his weapon until darkness swallowed him and the only thing he felt before he fell unconscious was the hard ground hitting the side of his face as he collapsed.

"Brother!" Al whispered, relieved to see his older brother standing behind where the soldier used to stand, helping Alphonse up to his feet.

Gold eyes that had seen far too much for his age narrowed and scanned his brother from head to toe, "Are you hurt?"

Al smiled and shook his head, picking up his gun and medical kit again, "Don't worry, I'm alright, but I would have been in a bit of a pinch if it weren't for you," he smiled bashfully.

Ed snorted, cocking his gun and taking the other weapon from the unconscious soldier on the ground, hoisting it on one broad shoulder, "Alright, you stay behind, I'll move up front and make a path for you, I got your back while you free the prisoners, here's some ammo in case they don't have any more," Edward threw the ammunition in his brother's hands.

Alphonse nodded seriously before stopping his brother from moving forward, "Brother, don't be reckless, I would hate to treat your injuries again if I know you could have avoided them," the serious look in his younger brother's usually cheerful and kind eyes signaled Ed he should heed his words and be more careful on the battlefield.

Ed nodded once firmly, before readying his weapons and moving swiftly forward with the grace of a panther ready to kill their prey. Al watched in awe as his brother first threw a smoke bomb, then a another to create a ear splitting sound, momentarily stunning the enemy forces and swiftly, silently taking them out.

Gunshots were heard, screams rose in volume until suddenly silence ensued. Al felt his heart beat increase as footsteps neared him, the gun in his hands was subtly shaking, for a split second doubt filled his heart, had his brother gotten out alive? Did anybody shoot him?

All his worries immediately melted away when Ed emerged from the smoke, grinning at him and wiping away blood that had randomly splashed on his forehead.

He sighed before quickly moving forward toward the wooden barracks, finding many of their soldiers, gagged and restrained, their weapons deposited on the opposite side of the room.

Alphonse quickly freed them while he heard his brother fighting outside and hoping he was holding up until backup arrived.

And then it happened.

He heard his brother shout out. Metal hitting metal.

Gold eyes widened in horror, momentarily forgetting his duty to the restrained soldiers and running outside the barracks, spotting the horror to be found.

It was his brother, a gun held in his hand and his other hand formed into a fist, over his heart. When his brother opened _that_ hand, Alphonse could see a small, oval shaped metallic object, a bullet.

He saw how he crushed the bullet with his hand, the fine gray powder that slowly fell from his brother's hand to the ground, the absolutely murderous look in his brother's eyes sent chills down his spine.

And when his brother removed his shredded gloves and his vest, Alphonse knew he would remind his enemies exactly _why_ he was called _Fullmetal_ on the battlefield.

* * *

 **So...how was it? NEXT chapter will be titled "** Scars Left by War"! Thank you all for reading!


	4. Scars Left by War

Hi everyone! I want to thank each and every one of you for reading my story and taken a liking to it! :) Of course, for your reviews too! There's nothing more that I love than reviews :3 BUT if you have any complains feel free to write them! :)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Kiyaxan:** Thank you! :3 I plan on shifting the POV a bit as the story continues, though I'm not sure how long this story will get, I guess it depends if people are still willing to read it ^^

 **Bloodynessie:** haha aw thanks! :) Yeah I love embarrassed Ed ^_^ But he's older than he is in the anime so a bit more mature but still our cute and dorky Ed ;)

 **Marucardoso:** Awww thank you so much! :D I'm really glad you and the rest like it so much! I've been worried I ruined the chapter because I speed typed and didn't re-read it! . But thanks for the compliments!

 **Lily:** Don't worry! No biggie, take a good long rest and thanks for the review Lily! :)

 **Daughterofapollo12345:** (rubs chin) That's weird...people always write to me that I should remind them never to eat while reading my fics...sheesh xd Oi, oi, now who said Hughes is dead? ;) Ohhh nooo, our dear Hughes is NOT dead in this story...though what I will do to him much later will probably cause you to try and find me and kill me (hides face) I got future plans for Hughes...and for other characters (sweat drop)

 **Panic:** haha Yeah, well actually I know 4 languages, or err 5 if you count Spanish, but I only know the basics of Spanish and don't really speak it actively so I usually don't count Spanish as a language I know lol :P Wait, you're a professor at a university? Oh sheesh why didn't you tell me! I would have watched my language a bit too (hides face) haha Really? Oh come on you're just flattering me xd Well, my former teachers told me that too (strangely enough o.o) and they told me I should consider becoming a teacher myself (it's on the list of many possibilities). :3 Thanks again! I love writing battle scenes and I hope this one will be good, though I'm more for swordplay to be honest.

 **Fir3danc3r:** Hi there! (waves) Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like it, eh, I've read quite a few of them and many of them are really amazing, I can't hold a candle to them! Hahah Thanks but my English isn't perfect, or at least I try to perfect it each and every day ^^

 **Enjoy reading everyone!**

* * *

 **Scars Left by War**

 _"If we are only human then...why do other humans call us monsters?  
Why do humans do things only monsters are capable of?  
Why do humans, we **humans** , kill **other** humans, an act only the vilest of **monsters** commit?  
Is it because we are monsters or because we are human?" – DragonRedfox (me)_

The scent of blood and burnt flesh hung heavy in the air, smoke in the distance ascending into the sky to pollute it further, dark grey clouds mingling with the foul poison and creating only darker clouds, threatening to bathe everything in darkness.

I panted heavily, holding the side of my stomach, my bleeding wound. My blood was warm as it spilled through my clothes and between my fingers, only to soak further into my pants. I growled and ripped a piece of my shirt off with my teeth, tying it around my waist to still the bleeding.

I couldn't afford to lose unconsciousness, I still had a damn job to do after all. I looked to my right, where Ling lay unconscious and well hidden behind bushes, well out of enemy territory. The possibility that an enemy could possibly penetrate till this point would be close to zero, after all, we still had our ace in case things would really go bad.

A brief, flickering light in the distance signaled me that Hawkeye was at position and ready, eliminating our enemies and thinning their numbers considerably, explosions in the distance made me smile, if only for a brief moment. Mustang and Kimblee were holding their own, put those two together and you have a battlefield of fire.

Now I just needed to take care of the grunts below, I had strong suspicions that Greed was close to the enemy ranks by now, surely taking them out like he said he would, the only problem was he was exhausted, pushed well beyond his limits. He had helped save many soldiers, protected Al and carried Ling over here to the barracks to safety, now the reckless fool was fighting again.

Greed was there, that meant that the Mustang Unit must be there too, since Mustang ordered them to cover Greed should anything happen. I took a deep breath and tilted my head up, light rain drops hitting my face and sliding down my blood and dirt smeared cheeks. I wasn't one for mystical things or anything connected to "God", since I didn't believe in him anyway, but I took it as a bad sign that it started to rain now.

I exhaled long and hard, before I took up the AK-47, two dual pistols in my gun holsters at my torso and the sword at my other hip. I wasn't usually one to use a sword, that was more Greed and Ling's specialty but if I ran out of ammo, then I had no other choice. I pocketed two smoke bombs and one explosion bomb, I counted the distance I would have to cover running and sneaking.

Running would tire me out faster, despite my good stamina but sneaking would slow me down far too much and I didn't have time to sneak around unless I neared enemy territory.

Running it is.

Quickly, I ran across the field littered with dead bodies, weapons and holes from grenades going off.

I jumped over fallen enemies and comrades alike, their numbers had suffered greatly, but ours had too. We had lost at least a third of our men that had come from Briggs, falling under the command of General Olivier Armstrong, Alex Armstrong's older sister. Al was back at the barracks treating the injured and most definitely Ling soon too, Greed and the Mustang unit were north where the enemy was at its core, Mustang, Kimblee and Hughes were in the east, fighting off the marines, Hawkeye and Second Lieutenant Havoc were south, behind me, covering ground as well as air forces.

I narrowed my eyes when I heard gunshots in the distance, I grabbed the rifle and did a double roll on the ground, hiding behind a tree as I tried getting a clear shot at whatever poor bastard came in my way right now.

My eyes widened when Furey and Breda came stumbling out of the smoke, moderately injured but not too seriously. I quickly shot out from behind the tree, at first their postures tensed when they heard footsteps approaching them, but they relaxed when they saw me.

"Elric! Ah shit!" Breda gripped his injured knee, cursing under his breath. I kneeled down on the ground, scanning him and the younger Fuery for any other injuries.

"Breda, Fuery! What the hell happened? Where is the rest?" it shouldn't have, but panic and worry gripped my heart. Why did these two only come back?

I gripped Breda's collar, pulling him toward me slightly but not too roughly, mindful of his wounds, "Breda! Where the hell is Greed and the rest?"

He winced but looked up at me, "They are still fighting those bastards, the bastards got some reinforcements. Greed, that bastard, he sent us back here to report our status and get back up. I'm glad you're here, Ed," the older man rested his hand heavily on my shoulder, on my _other_ shoulder and he shivered, briefly I wondered if he felt the ice cold under his hand but I pushed the thought away.

I nodded and stood up, nodding south, "Listen, Al is treating Ling and the other injured soldiers. You think you can make it back? It's not too far," I bit my lip, holding the rifle in my hand.

I wasn't happy about leaving them here but I couldn't waste time carrying them back when Greed and the others needed my help.

Fuery though stood up and smiled, a bit shorter than me, "Don't worry Ed, we will be fine. But you're hurt..." his eyes were drawn to the wound on my side and I instinctively covered it with my blood stained gloved hand... _that other_ hand.

I waved his concerns off, grinning, "Don't worry about me, get yourselves to the barracks to safety, I'll help them out," I patted Fuery once on the shoulder and continued forward.

I had to smile when Breda shouted after me, "And you better come back alive and kicking runt! Argh!"

My legs carried me over the blood and rain soaked earth, leaves and wood crunching beneath my army boots as I ran and ran and didn't know when I would stop. Blood was rushing through my ears, making my head spin, my stomach churn, my injury burn and my blood boil in anger.

My muscles tightened in anticipation and anger when I heard the distinctive sounds of battle ahead, loud clangs of metal hitting metal, bullets being shot, grunts and brief shouts of pain or anger. The smoke cleared to reveal a enemy's back to me and I grinned, Greed was in front of the bastard, with his back facing him, a dangerous position for any soldier. I grunted and jumped, I supported my weight with my hands against the ground and wrapped my legs against the soldier's neck, lifting him up and over my body, snapping his neck in the process even before he hit the dirt.

Greed whirled around at the sound of the man's choked cry and relief briefly flickered in his eyes to see me, I grinned at him and nodded. Greed and I pressed our backs together, successfully eliminating our blind spots as we dealt with the bastards coming at us.

I shouted over the loud pangs of gunfire and grenades ,"Where are the others?!"

Greed looked at me, one sharp violet eyes glancing at me briefly before kicking another assailant away, he shouted back, "At the back! Behind the barracks, they freed our injured buddies! I'll be fine here, you go and check on em'!" Greed shot a quick but meaningful look over his shoulder, slamming his elbow against one soldier's back, grabbing his rifle while twisting his hand backward and shooting at three other soldiers who were about to charge at him.

Suddenly, I didn't have much doubt Greed wouldn't be alright.

So I took off toward the back, rifle in hand, readied for anything. Until a sudden surge of pain suddenly shot through _that_ arm, up to my shoulder where the nerves were especially sensitive.

 _"Damn it! I thought this thing healed already! It's been over seven months!"_ I gripped my shoulder tightly, gritting my teeth together, _that_ arm was shaking uncontrollably and I bit my lip at the pain, " _Shit...not now. Not now! I can't afford to rest now of all times! Come on you stupid thing work!"_ I tried to shake it, but it was no use.

Ever since my risky operation and since I got... _them_ I had gotten frequently plagued by intense and sudden surges of pain, no matter the time of day or what I was doing, they would come and usually I would need to rest until it wore off. But I _couldn't_ rest now, not when my friends were fighting and probably injured somewhere.

I breathed deep and hard, with my normal hand I gripped my _other_ arm and squeezed tightly, I felt no pain or pressure, I knew that, but I thought it would decrease the shaking at least a little.

It didn't.

I grit his teeth tightly together and hoisted the rifle in my good arm, _"Alright, no use wasting any more time, guess I'll have to make due,"_ I nodded to himself, steeling my nerves and finally moved forward.

I looked down at my legs and was glad my leg didn't start shaking and throbbing in pain like _that_ arm did, at least I could be quick on my feet. Once I rounded the corner, I spotted Falman on the ground, holding an enemy at gunpoint, his right shoulder bleeding, Scar, a foreign soldier who decided to help and join Mustang's unit, was unconscious on the ground a few steps behind Falman, from what I could see he suffered a blow to the head.

I grit my teeth, there were sure to be more soldiers, I couldn't believe that this one soldier was only here that beat up my comrades like that. There's gotta be more.

As if on cue, a noise to my right flank alerted me of another soldier but to my surprise this soldier of the enemy ranks didn't just wield a simple gun or rifle.

It was a goddamn bazooka.

I wanted to scream and shout out to the skies above that everyone hated my guts today.

Falman spotted him and paled instantly, seeing me, their captain and only slightly below their leader Roy Mustang, at the mercy of the enemy that wielded a bazooka was very disheartening to say the least. I internally groaned, yeah I can imagine that.

The soldier spoke, "Drop your damn gun or I'll shoot your in command to bits and pieces until nothing is left," he threatened, lightly swaying the heavy bazooka in his arms, aimed straight at my chest.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the jerk that aimed a goddamn _bazooka_ at me.

Quickly, I tried reaching one hand to my hip to grasp at the handle of my sword, quietly, slowly, but the soldier saw it and threatened, "Hands where I can see them dumbass!" I growled lowly, defiantly raising my chin up and glaring straight at the man I was at the mercy of. Tch, I won't submit that easily.

It was more than annoying to be at the mercy of this jerk, if it had been a simple pistol or an AK-47, then I wouldn't have a problem disarming him and gaining the upper hand, but if the moron shot, then not only me but Falman and Scar and possibly Greed would be injured as well from the impact. I couldn't afford that.

I nodded at the weapon, "So, what are you gonna do? Shoot me dead? Kill my men? What perk would that give you? You would just kill me, but get nothing much in return except see me dead where you can get so much more," I tried tricking the bastard into relaxing slightly so I could devise a plan in my head to disarm him, bazooka and all.

The soldier didn't seem to buy it, he only grew annoyed at my attempted distraction technique, "Stop trying to bribe me, what do you hold me for? A fool? I know damn well what you're trying and I won't-" suddenly the soldier's eyes widened at least double their size, frozen in pain and shock.

The soldier suddenly fell forward with the weight of his weapon and once he hit the ground, motionless, I saw why.

A bleeding exit wound was directly in the middle of his scalp, killing him instantly.

I quickly picked up his rifle, searching everywhere for the shooter, for a brief second I thought it to be Hawkeye, but she was deployed south, it would be impossible for her to come here, then again, Breda and Fuery might have told her directly where I went.

To my surprise, the man I least expected to be here joined the scene, sniper rifle in hand.

He adjusted his glasses and grinned at me, "Hello there Captain, you alright?" his tone turned slightly serious when he spotted my bleeding wound and the way _that_ arm was shaking.

I shook my head, ignoring the pained yelp of the soldier that Falman had kicked into unconsciousness to the head, and ran a hand over my golden mane it turned into through the fight, "Aw man, Hughes, am I ever glad to see you," I grinned and clapped the older man on the shoulder, before allowing myself a break to collect myself and my energy. Fighting especially under a massive attack like this, was pretty darn tiring.

"Sorry for the delay, I had to help Roy for a bit before coming here, he said I should check on you. When I arrived at the barracks, Breda and Fuery told me where you and the others were at so I thought something might be going down. Breda also told me of your wound, so that speaks for itself," the older man looked down at me in concern but I waved it off, I was fine, bleeding a bit fine.

"Don't worry I'm fine, but we need to head back and let Al treat you guys," I looked at Falman and Scar.

Greed emerged as if on cue from the commotion at the back, "You pussies ready? I'm growing grey hairs over here," he scratched his head, casual as ever that guy. I snorted.

I shook my head and nodded, "Yeah, let's go,"

And that was when Hughes noticed how I started limping suspiciously back to camp, only I found out days later when he directly voiced his concerns about it.

I just smiled and waved him off, feeling pain shooting up and down _that_ arm and leg, I grinned at him, "Nah, don't worry about me, I'm fine,"

If only I were right for once in my life.

 **Thanks for reading everyone!**


	5. The Fullmetal Soldier

Hey guys! I'm really happy about all the reviews I received for the previous chapter and for your opinions! (sweat drop) As for the changing in POV's between first and third person, I remember I had a reason for it (something to do with Ed being in unknown territory in a tricky situation and not allowing the reader to see his deepest thoughts or something like that) but I decided to change it to first person POV since I can't fully remember why I switched . (face palm) Stupid all nighters and studying...ugh.

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Emma:** Well, certainly a few of them, though I THINK I will leave Lust, Gluttony and Sloth out of this one, or maybe they will have a cameo appearance at key events, I'm still not sure what their roles could be in the future.

 **Daughterofapollo12345:** (scratches neck) Ehehe...hahah You'll see ;) Though I seriously can't promise that any of you guys will like it (especially since I don't like it myself T_T) but yeah...this IS a fic about war (among other things ofc) so yeah...casualties be made, losses suffered T_T. haha Protect them in spirit, that was funny ^^. Thanks! I actually wanted to build up more drama between Ed and the soldier with the bazooka but I figured in this chapter there will be enough drama as it is :P

 **OtakuGirl:** Oh hello no! Greed and Ling, that's a firm no, no! As for Hughes...eh, I can't really guarantee that one, sorry OtakuGirl!

 **Bloodynessie:** (blushes) Thanks so much! :) Nah, I don't think so, really, your English is pretty good so far :D Oh, I'm sorry about that, you know, I used to be picked on because of my languages so I wasn't too happy I had to learn them when I was a kid (grins) But yeah, I'm far more motivated to learn as much as possible because I realized knowledge is something that can't be replaced and shouldn't be ridiculed. If somebody isn't as smart as someone else then they should set their goal to learn something new every day. (smiles) Thanks I'm glad some of my stories inspire my readers, that's sort of a second effect I would like to have since many of my stories are either about war, coping with loss, school/everyday life, friendships...etc.

 **Panic:** Ohhh sorry about that! Haha Tell me about it, my sisters are studying too, my oldest studies at her third university, yes third XD So yeah...thank you so much for the compliments! :3 Eh, I admit, not my best piece of work, especially since the ending was a bit rushed. As for the POV change, I clarified that in author's notes. Initially, it was deliberate, but my too tired brain just can't remember why I did that, I hope I remember though . Don't worry about that, I'm glad when you and the rest gives me pointers on what to change/improve! I mean, only through that will I evolve as a amateur writer and improve my writing! ;)

 **Curligurl0896:** Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it! :D Ah (scratches head in embarrassment) like I said, I clarified that up in author's notes, but basically, originally I had a reason why I switched from first person to third, but unfortunately my too tired brain forgot why . I hope I remember it again though. But thank you for the pointer really! :) and thanks for reading my story too!

 **Enjoy reading everyone!**

* * *

 **QUESTION:** Does anyone have any suggestions to what roles **Gluttony** , **Sloth** and **Lust** could incorporate? I'm not too sure about those three, since I thought to use them as cameo appearances in key events, not really actively make them a part of the storyline. But I'm not too sure, SUGGESTIONS and OPINIONS are welcome! Thank you guys in advance!

 **INFO ON CHAPTER:** This chapter starts right off where the SECOND chapter ("A Shift in View") ended!

* * *

 **The Fullmetal Soldier**

The air was silent and tense for a moment, heavy breathing were the only sounds registered in the younger Elric's mind as he still tried to wrap his head around what had just occurred.

He wasn't exactly what one could call a "seasoned veteran army doctor" quite yet, he had a couple of years under his belt, but he couldn't compare to Scar, who used to be a army doctor for his country before it had been taken over by Creta's troops, who were known to be a hostile and problematic country in the past, interpersonal relationships aside, they generally weren't exactly Amestris' favorite trading partners, much less partners at times such as war.

It wasn't a big secret that many soldiers of Central, the Headquarters of the military might in Amestris, had a strong suspicion that Creta assisted Drachma with additional firearms and more importantly economical supplies. Drachma was a country full of military power, similar to Amestris, though it's arctic temperatures prove a hindrance to Amestrian soldiers, who were more used to warmer climate as opposed to the chill of the north.

Alphonse looked worriedly at his older brother, who stood over the fallen, dead bodies of the soldiers that had had him surrounded not even a few minutes ago. He would never admit it, but sometimes, only sometimes, Alphonse was fearful of the power seated within his brother, not because he thought he could hurt him or their friends, but because he feared it would brand him an outsider and cause him to grow cold, not that he already weren't looked upon as an outsider, with his physical appearance.

Al slowly took a cautious step forward, watchful golden eyes on his brother's panting form, his human hand loosely hanging by his side, blood dripping down his fingers, soaking into the soil underneath, "Brother?" Al didn't know what worried him more, the fact that his brother was in this state or that blood was dripping down his arm, blood he didn't know belonged to his brother or to the men he had just killed.

No answer. Only ragged breaths for air as his brother waited for the pain to pass and for his body to finally calm down from its adrenaline rush.

Alphonse waited, recognizing the signs of physical exhaustion, not to mention his brother's physical well being has also been tested by that life threatening operation a few years back...

The panting was reduced to slow, deep breathing, controlled breathing, Alphonse relaxed slightly, that was a good sign. He felt a bit of relief wash over him when he heard Ed's rough voice speak quietly, "I'm alright Al...I'm fine..."

The long silence following the questionable statement caused Al's concern to soar again and he cautiously approached his brother before the older male cut him off, "Don't," he turned his head slightly, just enough to meet his younger brother's eye.

The command set in Edward's eyes told Al not to doubt the seriousness of his order, but he couldn't help himself, this was his _brother_ for goodness sake! Al didn't worry about status or rank, family always came first, no matter the situation.

"You're injured brother, I have to help-" Alphonse started but was cut off again.

Ed chuckled lowly with a ragged gasp, "I told you I'm fine Al, go help our men escape and check them for injuries. Send in Greed and Hughes," Al didn't miss the way his brother's entire body stiffened to rigidness when he attempted to move his hand, so he left it there, hanging limply on his side.

The younger Elric sighed and against his better judgment as a doctor and younger brother, he quickly walked to the back to get said people to his brother.

Once Al was out of view, Ed allowed himself to exhale loudly, nearly falling to one knee if he didn't catch himself in the last minute. He over exhausted himself again it seemed, wouldn't be the first or last time. Ed looked down at his _other_ arm, covered in a dark red, thick liquid.

The majority of his torso and legs were covered in blood, some his but most of it were his enemies' blood. He had only been so harsh with his brother because he didn't want Al to see him like this, he may be a army doctor, but Ed wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully if he scared Al by making him look like this.

Ed was startled out of his thoughts by two pairs of hands supporting him by his shoulders, his arms flung over a broad shoulder and he sighed in relief, "Thanks guys I-"

"You didn't think I would just listen to you did you brother?" Ed's eyes shot open, Greed and Hughes were supporting him on either side and he looked in front of him, where Al was standing with a disapproving look on his face, scrutinizing him. Ed felt guilty.

"Al..." he whispered, his gut clenching uncomfortably.

He sighed, "Brother, I've seen worse than this, trust me. It bothers me to see you like this because you're my brother but I won't break from seeing a bit of blood." He offered Ed a small smile, before asking seriously, "How is your wound? How much of that blood is yours?" he walked closer, eyes fixed on his abdomen where his wound stung.

Ed grunted with effort, "Don't worry, I'm fine, just a bit...t-tire-" before he knew it, darkness overwhelmed his senses and Ed fell forward but he was stopped by Greed who put a hand to his chest and righted him again.

Greed shook his head and sighed, "Kids these days, making parents and friends worry since day one," Hughes agreed silently, worriedly glancing down at the young man who was young enough to be his own son.

"We better get him to safety and out of here, his wounds look serious and we have no idea how much blood is his and how much he lost," Greed nodded at Hughes' suggestion and looked at Al.

"I called for backup, they should be here any minute to help ya with the captives," Al nodded at Greed and he watched them take his brother and superior away from the battlefield and in the direction of their medical tent south.

* * *

He sighed, resting his hands on his hips, thinking deeply. Hughes noticed it and rose an eyebrow in question, "What are you thinking?" his expression grew serious as if he knew his suspicions would be confirmed the minute Greed spoke.

And they were, "This won't be like with Aerugo and Amestris before...will it?" Greed opened his violet eyes and looked at Maes, whose eyes flashed in recognition.

The older man shook his head slowly, "I'm afraid...it will be much worse," the words hung heavy in the air, Greed's shoulders tensed at the thought of a war that would continue for more than just a few years.

Like back then with Aerugo and Amestris, granted their conflict was more a matter of cultural differences as well as political misunderstandings. It took two years for the conflict to resolve and the military to retreat and another year to fully reconcile and mostly repair collateral damages done to either countries.

But this...Drachma wasn't a small country, while Amestris was the country with the most fire power, Drachma wasn't one to be trifled with either. Their arctic climate proves as a further hindrance since Amestrian soldiers aren't as resilient against the cold as the Drachma people are, having gained a natural resilience against the biting cold their people were known for through years of living in such conditions.

Aside from geographical differences, Drachma was very...conflicted about Amestris and vice versa. Due to Amestris' militaristic ideology, Drachma, as was their nature to always be one step above their opponent, gained a mighty military power, adding to the fact that the country is currently being led by a more or less dictator orientated leader than a righteous democratic one. While the leader swore to uphold the rules every democratic orientated country is sworn to follow, spies the Amestrian military sent to investigate report that the leader may stage a public conflict between the two opposing countries which would eventually lead to war.

Funny, since that was exactly what happened.

Greed bit his lip, his frown creating a crease between his eyes, "Damn it all to hell, stupid Drachma bastards," he scoffed, slinging the bazooka from the ground onto his shoulder and walking in the direction toward their team, with Hughes following behind.

"This will end badly," he commented, something akin to fear in his wise eyes that had seen too much too soon.

Greed scoffed, "Ya think?" he bit his tongue but hissed out anyway, "I _know_ that those damn Creta fools are aiding Drachma, Drachma may be a country full of military and all, but Creta has the agriculture and the supplies Drachma lacks; men outside of the military. In Creta, each city is hostile toward one another and not everyone can support Drachma, so I imagine Creta is currently in disarray." He rubbed his forehead, "I'm too old for this shit,"

Hughes shook his head and rested a heavy hand on Greed's broad shoulder, "Tch, not old enough yet," Greed clicked his tongue, marching forward.

* * *

 _"_ _Oh my god! Honey! It's you! Finally! I've been starting to get worried! I didn't hear from you in two weeks?! What happened? Are you injured?"_ the concerned feminine voice of his girlfriend rang in Greed's ears as he scratched his bandaged head.

He replied easily, "Nah, I'm fine sweetheart. Wait, that's weird, you usually don't call me honey that often. Are you sick? I'm fine really, just tired from all this shit," he waited for Lena to tell him how much he was missed but he hoped for too much.

His ears almost bled, " _YOU FUCKING PRICK! YOU MADE ME WORRIED FOR TWO WHOLE WEEKS! IF YOU AREN'T INJURED OR YOUR HEAD IS BARELY HANGING ON YOUR SHOULDERS THEN I UNDERSTAND BUT YOU'RE COMPLETELY FINE YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING-"_ Greed quickly cut off her rant before he got a brain trauma.

"I missed you too sweetheart," his tone turned softer, a tone he only ever used with her when he was sincere and showing his feelings. It was that tone that softened his usual deep, slightly gruff voice, adding a warm note into it. Lena once described it as "adding a feeling of security and familiarity, a sign of affection to her". Funny how much you can find out about someone's voice.

She stopped her rant, taking a deep breath, " _Yeah, yeah, I missed you too you idiot. So, tell me, how is it at the border? Did you head out? Did those Drachma bastards ambush you?"_ her tone was still laced with worry but annoyance took over at the mention of the neighboring hostile country.

He loved that woman to bits and pieces, with a grin, Greed leaned back in his bunk bed and twirled the cord around his finger, "Yeah, we headed out today, it was a big fight I will tell ya that." He paused briefly, considering how much he should tell her.

Lena's voice turned firm, " _Greed...don't you dare leave me out! Don't make me come over there and personally beat you upside the head, just tell me what happened, I'm a big girl,"_ she encouraged him, her tone ending light and slightly playful at the end, calming Greed's nerves.

He sighed, "Alright, alright. We fought today with Drachma soldiers and managed to destroy a few of their bases, but they killed a few of our men, not to mention taken them hostage. There were many injured and...the runt's got some too," Greed sighed, looking over his shoulder at the unconscious young man, who was a few years younger than him, laying almost peacefully in his bed.

Lena's voice was soft as she spoke, " _Ed got injured? Is he alright? What happened? He's usually more careful or were you just outnumbered?"_ talking to Lena was like taking medicine Greed decided, even better.

Not only was she an emotional support, where she understood him better any anyone else, even better than himself at times, but he could also talk to her about trivial things, then came the more serious ones. Unlike with other women, Lena didn't recoil from talking about war and it's nasty sides. She was interested in it, or at least in the strategically planned battles in war. She also helped Greed see a new perspective to certain topics and he felt lighter after talking to her.

Greed ran a hand over his messy hair, "He's fine, he's resting now. Hughes told me that some little shit had gotten out from nowhere with a damn bazooka, but he told me that the kid was limping and holding onto...you know, that arm all the way back to base, today he seemed ok-ish I guess." Greed groaned, rolling his eyes.

Lena sighed through the phone, " _Greed,"_ the man perked up when he detected the serious tone of his girlfriend's voice.

"What is it?" he pushed himself away from the wall, resting his forearms against his knees.

Silence that was far too long for Greed's liking filled their conversation, the suspension gnawing at Greed so badly he had half a mind to repeat his question, until she started speaking, " _Just...how long until this war ends? How long until you and the others will return back home?"_

The blood in his veins froze as his violet eyes widened, he hadn't expected that question from her now. True, they talked about it a few times, but Lena being the optimist, she always tried to reassure Greed and herself that everything would be alright. Then there are times when not even she would believe in her own words anymore.

Greed bit his lip, running a hand down his face in irritation, he had no idea what to say. He couldn't lie to her, but he also didn't want to shatter her cheery optimism anymore than it already was, he knew she would take the truth, but he loved her too much to break her anymore than he had done when he had left her back home in order to fight.

A humorless chuckle sounded from Lena's lips through the phone and into Greed's ears, the sound pained Greed even more, " _It's alright, you don't have to lie to me Greed. I just...I just wish that you were here at times, you know? I know it sounds silly but I-"_

He cut her off surprisingly softly, "No, it doesn't", at her sharp intake of breath, he forced himself to talk, "I get it...I know what you mean Lena, seriously I damn do. I wanna be back too but until we have cleared things up here...I don't know...we have strong suspicions that Creta's army, what little military power they have anyway, support Drachma and that means only more soldiers on our hide. I...I wish I can tell ya when I'll be back but..." his hand clenched into a fist and he growled out his next sentence, "I have no idea if I'll be back,"

Lena remained silent, Greed couldn't even hear her breathe anymore and that silence scared him more than anything, "Lena? L-Lena?" he waited with baited breath for her to reply. He cursed himself under his breath, maybe he had been too forward.

" _I get it Greed, I know...I know there is no guarantee that you...that you will be back."_ She paused briefly to collect her thoughts, " _I realized that the moment I sent you off but...you know what they say, hope dies last...right?"_ Greed almost saw the warm smile on her face and he wished he could see it.

He chuckled quietly, shaking his head, "Yeah, it does." This time the silence was somewhat welcome, as both took the time to collect their thoughts and emotions.

There was a rustling from behind, indicating something opening the flap of the tent, Greed turned around a little when he heard the familiar clicking of boots against each-other.

There was a soldier, standing stiff and straight, saluting Greed. Greed grit his teeth in severe annoyance, "Sorry sweetheart, wait a minute," he told Lena softly on the phone before he pressed the phone against his chest and regarded the nervous looking soldier with clear malice and murder intent.

" _What?_ " Greed snapped harshly, causing the soldier to stiffen further.

He cleared his throat nervously, "Um, s-sir, G-General Mustang orders you to come and see him as soon as possible, he says-"

Greed cut him off, "Is someone dying?"

The soldier was caught off guard, blinking. At the delay of answer, Greed barked, "Well?!"

The poor younger male almost squeaked at the intimidating aura overflowing in waves from Greed, "Uh, n-no sir, but General Mustang-"

Greed cut him off again, violet eyes burning, "Well, tell General Mustang to not disturb me while I'm talking on the phone! Can't ya damn pussies mind yer own business and leave me the fuck alone?! Now scram before I change my mind and stand up!" Greed threatened with no small dose of hostility as the soldier practically fled the tent.

Greed lifted the phone back up to his ear, hearing giggling on the other side, ignoring it and continuing as if nothing happened, he asked, "So, where were we?" he examined his fingers, oblivious.

Greed could almost imagine Lena shaking her head at him as she said the next words with a patronizing albeit playful tone, _"Greed, gosh you dork. You can't just bite people's heads off just because they have orders to follow you know? What if Mustang needed something important and you just told that poor guy off?"_ there was a brief slapping sound and Greed deduced she face palmed.

He snorted, chin in the air defiantly, "Tch, don't care. I stated in my damn application form that I demand fucking privacy when I talk to you on the phone! If some morons are too stupid to follow those simple instructions then I'm forced to set them straight," he nodded to himself, despite Lena not seeing the motion.

The woman sighed in exasperation, " _I still can't believe you actually wrote that in your application letter, people must have thought you were delusional! Oh god, just imagine what Mustang might think what in the world we are talking about that you demand absolute privacy?!"_ the small, embarrassed squeak of horror coming from his girlfriend made Greed's lips stretch into a wide, mischievous grin.

"Heh, that old perverted geezer doesn't need hints to make himself a picture, he will think those things anyhow. Besides...not like you _don't_ talk about _that stuff_ through the phone with me you dirty little girl," Greed's grin was impossibly wide, eyes alight with mischief and amusement when Lena released a louder squeak of embarrassment and horror.

" _Greed! What am I going to do with you?! Besides, need I remind you that_ _ **YOU**_ _always initiate those talks and NOT me?! I just...follow the flow!"_ Greed laughed out loud, amused at hearing all the noises of embarrassment and horror Lena was making.

Oh yeah...he loved that woman to bits, "Right, right, it was _me_ that **ordered** myself to dress up in just army pants and my dog tag while we were skyping right? Of course, I always love watching myself pose and strip,"

Another mortified squeak followed by a string of curses left Greed to try and tone down his loud laughter, " _Y-you perverted idiot! What will people think?! And you did NOT strip! Stop trying to make me look like some wanton sex crazed first class pervert!"_ a long pause ensued before Lena spoke again, quieter this time, " _Besides...those pictures and videos keep me alive when it's Valentine's Day or I'm bored and miss ya...Tch, as if YOU are everything that's innocent and holy. Just_ _ **who**_ _asked me to send a picture by mail with me only in my lingerie and holding a piece of paper saying 'Greed's Only, Touch and you will die'? Hell, they are controlling your mail mister! I don't want half of the military to see me in my lingerie!"_ Greed grinned at her annoyed tone.

Suddenly, he got an idea, "Say..." he looked all around himself and under the bed in case Ling decided to be funny again and hide under it. Nope the coast was clear, Greed smirked saucily, "...Are you in the mood for some...you know...' _talking_ '?"

For a brief moment, Greed feared she would personally come all the way till the border just to cut off his balls for that comment of his but much to his surprise she whispered into the phone quietly, " _...Is anyone around you or hiding somewhere around you?_ " Greed couldn't help but smirk.

"The coast is clear sweetie. Knock yourself out my lady," Greed leaned back against the wall, dirty grin in place.

Lena giggled almost... _suggestively_ into the phone and Greed's hand momentarily trembled, " _Oh really? Hmm...let's see...well, captain, what would happen if I accidentally discharged the wrong missiles?"_ the tone Lena used, that coy yet suggestive tone, did wonders for Greed.

He never felt any happier, Greed chuckled, "Well, that will pose a problem now won't it? Tell me, Lieutenant, how many of those missiles did you fire?"

Greed's eyes flashed when she whispered, " _Many, captain"_

"Is that so...don't worry sweetheart, I got another missile you didn't fire right he-"

" _OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SAVE YOUR PHONE SEX FOR A BROTHEL! INTO WHAT SORT OF KINKY STUFF ARE YOU PEOPLE!?"_ Hughes' mortified voice carried into the phone, making both Lena and Greed freeze ice cold.

It took a few seconds for Greed to recover until he hollered into the phone angrily, "THE HELL MAN?! WERE YOU SPYING IN ON US?! I WILL KILL YOU, YOU SNEAKY BASTARD! I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE FAMILY I'LL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU!" Hughes snickering voice could be heard in the background.

" _Hoho, I see, no wonder that poor soldier ran like the wind. I should have known you were talking to Lena right now,"_ Greed was stunned to silence when he heard _that_ voice.

" _G-GENERAL MUSTANG?!"_ Lena's mortified shriek invaded the conversation, " _YOU STUPID PERVERTED OLD CROOK! I'LL SIC RIZA ON YOU!"_

Almost immediately, Roy's voice turned sweet and pleading, " _W-what?! N-now wait a second Lena, I-I'm sure we can discuss this over a cup of tea!"_

 _"_ I'll make ya swallow those biscuits and tea cups you fool!" Greed growled into the receiver until he sped off outside the tent, where a certain duo was already running ahead like frantic chickens, running away from the enraged Lieutenant.

 _Back in Amestris_

Lena tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, enraged, mortified and embarrassed beyond belief. She sighed, running a hand over her face, "I can't believe it...tch, Greed definitely won't get any _talking_ from me that's for sure," she said to herself, crossing her arms.

When she was about to put down her phone and end the line there was sudden rustling on the line. Lena rose an eyebrow and lifted it back up to her ear, "Greed?"

The familiar deep voice of her boyfriend said breathlessly through the phone, panting like a dog, " _Hey sweets! Sorry 'bout that, had to take the trash out. Uh...I'm guessing you aren't in the mood huh?"_ oh she could almost _picture_ that sheepish puppy grin of his.

She growled and slammed the receiver down, her face burning crimson at the thought of her boyfriend. After she tried to finally calm down, and failing miserably, Lena threw her hands in the air and stood up, nearly falling over a stuffed cat toy Greed had gifted her, which had fallen from the couch on the floor.

Lena stopped and bent down, picking up the middle sized animal toy, it's violet eyes staring back at her. Violet. The unusual color of his eyes. She sighed, slowly slumping to her couch.

She cradled the stuffed toy in her arms, hugging it, imagining it was Greed, she knew it was silly, childish even, but she didn't care. She missed that damn idiot. It had been a few years now...5 actually. Her frame trembled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Greed would be okay. He had good friends that watched his back and he wasn't a pushover either, but still...sometimes, in the stillness of their apartment she would be bombarded by feelings of loneliness, she would feel like the apartment was far larger than it actually was without Greed there. When she would try to sleep at night, she would try to call the base but the State Military would either say it was far too late to connect her to the base at the border or nobody would pick up.

She always tried to reassure herself that it was because everyone was asleep but the irrational fear that gnawed at the corners of her mind would make her second guess that, would make her question if Greed would walk out of the military the same way he had walked in.

Alive.

* * *

Winry couldn't believe it, just what sort of idiot dared to take such poor care of his car? Winry had spoken to the owner of course, he had told her in short that his car sounded funny, oil leaked out of it..etc.

When Winry had taken a closer look at it, she nearly cried. How could anyone own such a nice car and maintain it so poorly?! Just what sort of people would buy a car and not even try to keep it in shape? Winry only shook her head and donned her working gloves.

It was time to save what could be saved.

She had told the owner that there was no guarantee if his car could be repaired fully, since he hadn't been to a mechanic in _months_. Such customers were driving her up the wall! Being all annoyed and angry when she would tell them she wasn't sure if their rides could be fully repaired, which in turn enraged Winry further, coming here with a car that looked like it escaped the junk yard by a hairs breath and having the _decency_ to demand the repayments would be scheduled sooner than planned.

"Tch, stupid arrogant jackasses who don't even know how to take care of their own car, when I get my hands on them..." Winry tried not to let annoying people get to her and instead focused on her work, the car definitely needed some heavy fixing.

The oil tank had _holes_ , which explained the oil leak the driver had complained about, a few vital missing screws by the tires, the tires themselves weren't even full of air...

Winry had half a mind to head over to the owner and knock him out with her wrench to teach him a lesson.

She shook her head, grabbing the coffee cup, her blue eyes moved to the flamboyant man fawning over her half finished work which laid out on her workbench, "Garfiel...are you sure you don't need a break? You've been watching my automail for a while now," Three hours and twenty-five minutes to be exact but who counted right?

Garfiel, a engineer himself who owned a mechanic shop not far from Winry's own, briefly turned to look at her before surveying the fine piece of metal on the workbench again for the umpteenth time, "A break?! Of course not! Winry dear this is a piece of art! Why don't you compete in the contest coming December? I'm sure you would win with this! It's beautiful! So unique! I'm sure nobody would have thought of this!" stars were materializing in his eyes, Winry was sure Garfiel would start salivating any minute now.

She shrugged, sipping her coffee, "I don't know Garfiel, there are many engineers who come from all over the world that will compete against each-other. I don't think I would stand a chance," she sighed, watching how the dark liquid swished about in her cup, the aroma filling her nose and calming her slightly.

The flamboyant man rubbed his chin, genuinely curious, "I wonder, we have known each-other for some time now but you keep being insecure about your skills, why?" he stood up to looked at her, his attention fully on his fellow automail engineer.

Winry held the warm mug in her hands, contemplating on how to answer her friend, "Well...I...I just see other people's work you know? The way they pay all their attention on details, how they finely tune them and polish them not to mention most of them stand financially better off than me you know, I can't afford high quality metal like they can. Quality does play a important role after all," the blonde's gaze saddened again.

Garfiel crossed his arms, "Winry, you know if you ever need anything that I would be happy to lend you some money-"

Winry immediately cut her friend off, "No! Absolutely not! Garfiel I told you many times that I will not borrow any money that I may be unable to pay back in the future! Really, I'm fine as I am now," she smiled brightly, trying to reassure him.

Garfield shook his head but accepted her headstrong nature, he knew it was no use, Winry was a strong, independent woman and she wouldn't let other people help her.

The skilled automail mechanic switched the topic onto more interesting places, "So...tell me sweetheart, did that soldier boy write to you?" he giggled behind his hand, grinning widely at the suddenly shy young woman.

Winry fought to keep down the redness of embarrassment spreading over her cheeks as she coughed into her hand, "N-not as of yet, no! I've sent him a letter a few days ago, so I don't expect him to reply in another few days." She pointedly looked at anything other than Garfiel.

But he wouldn't be deterred so easily, "Yes, yes, did he send you some pictures? Hmm? Did he? Did he? Is he handsome? Oh honey I say grab him before he's snatched away by some other woman!" he wiggled his finger at Winry, delighted to see her embarrassed reaction.

"G-Garfiel! Stop it! No he didn't and I didn't ask! We have only written each-other for a few weeks after all! It would be weird for me to ask him to send me a picture of himself! What would he think?!" Winry nervously strangled the dirty cloth in her hands, face burning.

Garfiel however waved off her concerns, "You worry about too many things too much dear!" the mirth in Garfiel's eyes suddenly intensified and a grin stretched his features, "Say...what was the name of Lena's handsome boyfriend again? Greed was it? Do you perhaps have a picture? Oh Lena's got it good I tell you, that woman is as happy as a bee with a hot hunk like _that_! I've seen those guns and my mind was _blown_!"

Garfiel reacted far too late when the harsh punch of reality quite literally flew into his face.

It was the wrench.

* * *

 _At the border_

A violent shiver raced up and down Greed's spine and he looked behind himself, a nervous, disgusted frown on his face, "Aw hell...I always get those shivers whenever that creep from the mechanic shop talks about me..." Greed shivered in disgust.

Ed stirred, groaning in pain when he moved and attempted to sit up, Greed firmly pushed him back down on his bunk bed, "Wakey wakey kiddo, you sure took some blows huh," violet eyes scanned Ed's form from head to toe.

The blonde slowly lifted a hand to massage at a pulsing pressure at the side of his head, "What... what happened?" gold eyes opened slowly, blinking, slowly registering his surroundings.

"You exhausted yourself that's what happened," he tapped _that_ arm casually, "And you didn't tell us you needed a check up on them," Greed's expression turned serious, "Mistakes like that could get you killed on the battlefield you know that. We sent for a mechanic, he should be here tomorrow afternoon, rest for now,"

"Where's Al? Where's Mustang and the rest? Any injured?" Ed felt his eyes grow heavy, his mind screaming at him to succumb to sleep.

Greed rolled his eyes, "A couple, but they are stabile. They are all fine don't worry, now rest,"

Ed couldn't fight his exhaustion any longer, but before the darkness swallowed him, words materialized in front of his mind's eye.

 _Anyway, I hope you're safe there! Reply soon okay?_

Greed saw the ghost of a smile on Edward's face and he wondered what he was thinking.

 **I hope you all enjoyed it!** :) Suggestions for future chapters are welcome! Sorry for the delay! BTW: Anyone remember **who** said those words Ed remembered? ;) **NEXT CHAPTER:** "Matters of the State"


	6. Matters of the State

Hello everyone! I hope everyone reading this is doing fine and so far enjoying my little story! ^^ :3 I'm still _unsure_ how long this story will be, I originally planned for it to be pretty short, since I thought not many people would be interested in my writing style and the story idea in general, but since I've gotten some positive feedback, I guess it can be a bit longer as long as it doesn't get boring. :)

Oh BTW, I just recently made my own **Instagram** account under the name " **DragonRedfox** " ^^ (with the same profile picture) I think it's silly but a few friends somehow convinced me and yeah...haha if anyone wants to look at some of my quotes, pictures, story-related posts or anything else I may post in the future feel free! :)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Lily:** haha Yeah, it was the last thing Winry wrote on her reply to Ed, I thought it would be nice if Ed remembered something like that, even if they don't have any sort of relationship quiet yet. ^^

 **Cassey:** Mhm, that's right! I have in mind that at one point, which will come much later, Garfiel would playfully flirt and harass Greed and Ling ;) haha

 **Bob:** Aw really? Cool! I hope I was brunette in your dream (since I am one lol) haha aw, that would be so cool! :3

 **Penguin20:** Yup it's Winry alright!

 **Literature Work:** Hi there! I'm really glad that you enjoy my story so far! :3 haha Well it was Winry's line that he remembered and for now, that's a secret ;)

 **Bloodynessie:** I was thinking of writing about that maybe in the next chapter or in two-three chapters where I clarify Ed's life as a soldier and how he came to be one, perhaps even later in the story. :) Meh, mine isn't too elegant either but oh well :P

 **Daughterofapollo12345:** haha nope they don't ;) I'm glad you liked them, personally I love writing those bits the most! ^,^

 **Panic:** Naw thank you Panic! You always flatter me so! :3

 **SweetRiceball20:** Hi there, welcome to mah story! ;) Thank you so much! BTW: I really like your profile pic, it's damn cute! :3 haha

 **GrumpyCatWriter101:** haha Hi there! Oh thank youuu soo, soo much! Seriously, I always get so excited when I see that people like to read my stories so really thank you! I hope I can still keep you interested with future chapters too! :) haha

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Matters of the State**

"Y-you what?" Lena blinked, slightly caught off guard by the sudden serious question Winry prepared for her.

The blonde scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably, "Y-you don't have to answer it if it's too personal, I just wondered that because you all have either husbands or boyfriends who are in the military so I was curious..." blue eyes looked into stunned brown and Lena started to giggle, "Hey! That's not funny!"

"Oh, no, no, I'm not laughing at you. It's just...I don't know, you usually don't want to have much to do with the military. Why the sudden interest huh? Is it maybe because of a certain Elric brother?" she winked, ducking when Winry attempted to hit her with a tool from her workbench.

"Oh shut up! Just answer the questions!" Winry muttered, sighing.

Lena giggled before clearing her throat, "Alright, alright. Well...it _does_ get pretty lonely every once and a while you know? Especially on birthdays or holidays, well...not only then but those are the times when it really starts to set it I guess. At the beginning, the first two years or so, it had been hell but after some time I accepted it for what it was and prayed that Greed half knows of what he is doing there," she half joked, winking.

Winry smirked, "Wait, you pray?" Lena lightly shoved her shoulder, ignoring the comment about her beliefs.

"Oh but the phone sex and naughty skype videos make up for-" Lena began, a devilish grin on her face as she saw her friend's face turn into a tomato as the blonde mechanic started frantically "searching for her tools".

"A-ah, alright, alright! You know what?! Don't you have work or something?! I mean, it's like really, really early and you have your shift and-"

Lena cut her off calmly, smirk in place, "It's eight in the afternoon sweetheart, don't go getting all shy with me," Lena laughed, briefly thinking if she talked too much with Greed shaking her head at herself.

Winry sighed, "He still didn't answer and two weeks passed..." the sudden sad expression on her friend's face caused Lena's own to soften and place a comforting hand on Winry's shoulder.

"Hey, cheer up will you? It's not the end of the world and I'm sure he will write as soon as he's able, they may have had a few run ins with Drachma from what Greed told me last time," she rubbed her chin, recalling her semi-embarrassing conversation she had with her boyfriend a few weeks back.

Winry stopped cleaning her tools and turned around to stare at Lena, "...How do you do it?" she tilted her head, like Den when she was confused.

Lena blinked, perplexed, "Do what?" she scratched her head, confused.

"Be so happy...motivating others all the time and cheering us all up...I mean, you have a lot on your plate too Lena..." Winry's gaze was sad and sympathetic.

Lena didn't answer for a few minutes, her throat suddenly dry like sand as she fought to find the right words. It was true, Lena was a strong woman, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to "tame" Greed, like many of her friends tease her, but she herself had a lot of things to worry about.

Lena smiled, closing her eyes, fighting to keep the tears that were slowly starting to build up at bay, "It's not how much I have on my plate...it's how much I see others suffering or being down. I guess I'm allergic to sad people or depressing moods so I try to evade them as best as I can. I hate seeing you or the others said Win, it's something my dad always used to tell me when I was young, how I always tried to cheer him up when he was sad and would think about mom..." she smiled brightly, "Besides, if I don't cheer you depressing chickens down, who will? Right?"

The brunette was caught off guard when Winry hugged her so tightly she thought she couldn't breathe, she felt moisture on her shoulder and sighed, soothingly rubbing Winry's back and hair, "Hey...you ain't making my job easier..." she softly said in her friend's ear, hugging her back.

Winry grit her teeth, "I-I'm sorry Lena...it's just...we all hate seeing you smiling and happy when we know you're suffering too! If you won't cry then I guess I'll just have to in your stead...right?" she lifted her head, small tears at the corner of her eyes, a small smile on her face.

Lena shook her head, tears slowly reaching her eyes, "You don't have to worry about me not crying...ugh, guess your plan is working huh?" she rubbed at her eyes, letting out a half laugh.

Winry nodded, smiling and hugging the woman that was slowly breaking apart before her.

They knew times were hard, but they would get better, they had to, they usually did. Situations like these were mostly like sunshine after rainy days.

* * *

Ed was sitting at his desk, his blonde mane peeking and sticking out of the bandage wrapped around his head, dressed in a plain, loose black shirt and his uniform pants, chewing on his bottom lip.

A mechanic had looked at him a week ago and he was deemed fine enough to move, but not to fight or overexert himself. He had suffered serious injuries, because of the pain he even hallucinated at one point, thinking he was dead and the necessary pain killers were a few hours away to ease his pain. So, he had been chained to the tent, sometimes even literally by his own brother and Mustang that bastard, to not head out.

It had been difficult, as captain of the team not to help with the execution of operations and helping his own team, but he had swallowed his pride more often than he cared to count in the past, so he didn't break a leg to do it again either.

The sound of an eraser furiously rubbing against the sheet of paper was heard as Ed grew slightly frustrated at what he could write to Winry. It had been eating away at him for days, especially since his head had been pounding with headaches not too long ago. He hadn't been able to think straight, much less write a letter.

So here he was, writing back to a woman he didn't know but was hoping to get to know because she sounded like a spitfire and a kind girl at the same time.

Well...he didn't have the best luck with women he had to admit. Before his military career had started, he had usually been a stuttering mess on dates, didn't know how to behave all prim and proper in fancy restaurants, which he also had to pay, bless his poor wallet and had been attacked by jealous (ex-) boyfriends of his dates. His worst dates had been that some women had left their partners in hopes of becoming a famous wife of a soldier who would become famous one day. Ed had never fled faster from a date than in those cases.

He sighed, playing with the eraser like a child, throwing it lightly on the piece of hard wood, letting it bounce off its surface before throwing it again.

"What to write, what to write..." he muttered to himself, glad for a rare chance to be alone with his thoughts in the tent.

The boys were out visiting another one of their bases to the east, a ritual check-up after the run in they had with Drachma a few weeks ago.

Gold eyes glanced down at the paper again and he groaned, "Ugh...come on brain work!" he tapped the side of his bandaged head lightly with his forefinger, trying to make words magically appear in it, but it was no use.

He started with the obvious.

 _"_ _Hi Winry,_

 _Hawkeye? Nice? Yeah she is, well if she isn't in a bad mood or holding a gun to your head but yeah, she's nice._

He snorted, shaking his head.

 _Anyway, how comes you wrote me so late? Did you have to work so late? Even I'm sleeping at that time, well mostly anyway. So, how are you doing? I actually wanted to write sooner, but I got a bit injured when we ran into Drachma so I had to lay down and rest, nothing serious though._

Ed frowned, _why_ was he writing that? He was sure that stuff didn't interest her! He growled but continued on writing.

 _Right, so, you said you knew Mei? Of course I know her, the little bubbly pipsqueak full of energy, how can I not know her? I met her once, when she went to see Al off before we departed for Drachma but that's all. You like...my eyes? Uh, thanks. Yeah, I have the same gold eyes like Alphonse. What? So you like my eyes huh? I admit, I'm damn sexy with my eyes, you know gold eyes and all, attracts the ladies! ;) By the way, what eye color do you have?_

Ed chuckled, he had a hunch Winry would write something witty back at his "sexy" comment, he wasn't even really sure if he was crossing a line or not. Wait but asking her eye color, that was a safe question right? Eye color...safe question...good.

Was the word "sexy" even allowed yet? Would it ever be allowed?! Was _he_ going delusional right now? Ed sighed, wiping his forehead and winced when he accidentally applied pressure on a covered wound.

 _Oh, what soldiers do, yeah we do something like that. Before every battle we prepare ourselves what may expect us there and gather everyone fighting up, to go over the rules again and all. I'm leading the team when Mustang's absent or dealing with other stuff so I coordinate the groups and we make a plan on where the enemy is and where the "safe zones" are for us to move around without being in immediate danger. Al is the head medic and always comes along in case we have injured, he jokes that I guard him like a watchdog when we're out on the battlefield._

Ed chuckled to himself, remembering Al's annoyed face every time Ed allowed himself to be a bit more protective of his younger brother than he usually was and making over exaggerated but very true threats to their enemies should they harm a hair on his head.

Then he suddenly remembered. Wait a damn second!

"She thinks I'm actually the rank of a captain?!" Ed said out loud, surprise flickering in his eyes.

He slapped his open palm against his face groaning, he tended to forget that people outside of the military or his group had no idea that his official rank wasn't in reality captain. The name stuck, among others. Well, he quickly needed to correct that little misunderstanding.

 _There is something you should know, I'm not actually the rank of a captain. My men call me captain or Fullmetal but I'm not really a captain by rank. By official rank, I'm Lieutenant General by official rank and Mustang is above me, he is a General. As for the guys in my team...well, there is my brother Alphonse, who is the head medic there. There are the two brothers, Ling and Greed. Ling is a little weird and a bit hit in the head but he's a nice and funny guy, he's good with bombs and grenades oh and he has cool ninja moves ;). Greed is his twin, but he looks more...dangerous? Insane? Something like that. Ling is a cinnamon roll but Greed is the opposite, let's say it like that. Greed's a rank below me, Major General, and he's really greedy, pun intended. I think you know his girlfriend, Lena right? If you know Mei and Hawkeye, Lan Fan too I think, then you gotta know Lena. Sometimes I seriously wonder how such a nice woman got to be stuck with such an ass._

Ed paused, pen above the paper. Was he being a jackass for badmouthing his friends? He rubbed his chin, thinking for a minute.

He shrugged and continued writing.

 _Anyway, there is Mustang's Unit too but they are directly under his control, not mine so yeah. It's the same unit Hawkeye was a part of, with Fuery, Breda, Havoc and Falman. Not to mention Kimblee, but he keeps more to himself, he's a well known seasoned veteran. He's especially skilled with explosives, not to mention, rumors say he was forced into a mental institution because he "loved hearing things explode". Only met him a handful of times, but I wouldn't cross him if you want to stay alive._

Oh hell, he really did hope Winry wouldn't stop writing him after everything she would be reading here.

 _You mentioned gossip? And Robert Windmill? Oh come on, that guy's been getting on my nerves since I finished elementary! Yeah, I'm not surprise someone finally knocked some sense into him and I'm glad it was literally with a wrench too! Thanks for doing that, you should get a medal for it! I'm sure if Al would be a girl he would hit on him too! Tch, stupid ass. I'm glad he finally got what he deserved though._

Ed bit his lip, trying to suppress his chuckles at the thought of Robert getting a nice beating. He smiled as he came to an end.

 _I'll keep safe don't worry, but you do too alright? Tell me how's it going on your side? How's your job and how are the girls doing? Be sure to greet them from me alright? BTW: Salute to Hawkeye or she will send my balls back to me by mail if I don't salute her, even through letters. Reading you soon!_

 _-Edward 'Fullmetal' Elric_

Ed grinned, shaking his head at the thought of Hawkeye getting annoyed at not being saluted to. The truth was, Riza was a kind woman, a bit hardened from her years of experience in the field but a kind person through and through. It was just a running gag between everyone that whoever didn't show respect to Hawkeye got a bullet in his head...or worse.

"Oh damn it!" Ed cursed aloud, eyes widening when he noticed that he didn't ask who that Den guy was.

He rubbed the back of his neck, maybe it was best he didn't ask, it wasn't his business anyway. Maybe she was married and Den's last name was Rockbell? Ed firmly told himself he didn't care nor was interested in it.

Nope, he wasn't interested at all.

* * *

"Surely you understand, right?" Roy whispered into the phone, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings at all times.

The deep voice on the other end of the line replied evenly in low whispers, " _Yes, indeed. Do you require any more packages to be sent?"_

Roy's face turned grim, "I'm afraid so, our previous...packages have suffered greatly. We have many casualties to answer to..." the grip on the phone tightened and Roy clenched his teeth tightly.

The line was silent for a few moments, in what Roy assumed was a respectful silence, until the normally firm voice turned soft and spoke again, _"I see...that's very tragic to hear and even more so to witness...my sincere apologies Mustang. I'll send word immediately and new packages will be ready,"_

Roy had to bite his tongue to refrain from addressing the man he was talking to by his formal title and keeping up appearances, "I assume the parcel office will compensate for the damage..." he felt sick to his stomach.

" _Yes, they certainly will. They certainly will..."_ there was a underlying threat in the man's voice and Roy knew how angry he was, angry at the enemy for shooting down so many honorable men that had sworn loyalty to them.

Nothing made Roy more sick than to address his soldiers as "packages" but it was needed to keep up appearances, chances were high that enemy troops may be listening in on the conversations, since he wasn't using a safe line it may as well be the case.

"Right, I'll wait for the next set of packages then, thank you very much for your understanding," Roy curtly ended the call.

 _At the State Military Office_

Gloved hands clenched into tight, shaking fists, barely controlled anger shaking the tall, broad frame of the man standing before the telephone.

"There were many casualties..." the man muttered, rage filling him at the sheer thought of the enemies killing many of his own men.

"Sir..." a dark skinned man with unusual red-brown eyes stood tall next to him, dark shades perched on top of his nose, almost snow white hair tied into a tight pony tail at the back of his head. He was holding a file in one hand, reports and stats on all fallen soldiers and ones that were sentenced as "MIA".

The man nodded silently, "Send the letters to their families," the other officer nodded curtly and saluted once, walking away with a grim expression on his face.

Once the officer was out of earshot, the man, known as General Bradley, whispered silently into the empty office that seemed far colder than it once was, "They deserved to hear what happened..."

The five stars that proudly adorned his uniform seemed like a blasphemy to him now, like a meaningless symbol out of formality, not because he had achieved great things, but because it was the law.

Red started soaking the white material of his gloves, his hands shaking in uncontrollable rage as he slammed one fist against the hardwood of the wall before him, teeth bared into a angry snarl, "What good does my rank mean...if I can't even protect my men from certain death..."

His left eye, the one covered with an eye patch, pulsed as if in memory and Bradley held a hand to it, as if to soothe it.

"They will pay..."

His eye pulsed...

* * *

"Excuse me, Miss Rockbell?" the postman asked awkwardly as he tried looking at the woman's face, who was halfway hidden by the large engine of the truck she was currently tinkering with.

"O-oh! Uh, sorry I'll be right up!" Winry quickly assured, nearly hitting her head on a wrongly angled pipe that kept stubbornly resurfacing from it's compartment.

As quickly and smoothly as she could, Winry freed herself from her prison of bolts, screws and metal, grinning awkwardly when she noticed oil smudged on her cheek and neck.

The postman smiled only half heartedly, a sad, sympathetic look in his eyes as he held out the envelope to her.

Winry rose an eyebrow, it had the State Military emblem on it but it was different than her usual mails she received from Edward so far.

The color was a bit different and the seal as well...

Cautiously, Winry took it and the postman couldn't refrain from asking, his voice low, "Do you know what this letter means?" in his job delivering the mail to the smaller towns of Amestris, he had, of course, delivered mails and news that brought joy to the people he gave them to but at other times...

"It's a letter from the State Military..." he paused, a grim look settling on his normally kind, open features, "They send them out whenever a soldier has fallen in battle..."

Winry's eyes widened, her whole body turning rigid and her hands shaking slightly, quickly, she ripped open the letter.

 _"_ _W-what?! That can't be! I don't have anyone in the military! Why would-how could?! Wait...no...it couldn't be him...no...no...it can't be!"_ Winry's thoughts were scrambled and uncoordinated, a jumbled mess in the growing fear she was experiencing as a sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach.

She skipped the addresses of the sender and recipient above and read the first sentence.

" _With our sincerest apologies we have to inform you of the death of-"_

The letter fell from her hands.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! O.O Eheh..sorry :3 I'll try to update soon so I don't leave you guys hanging.** Well...Ed DID suffer pretty serious injuries and who said that what I wrote above wasn't all an illusion and never actually happened in the first place? Maybe Ed didn't recover from his injuries, Al did say he lost a lot of blood...


	7. Resembool, Central and Us

(grins) Hi my dear readers! :D Eheh, yeah, sorry for leaving you with a nasty cliffhanger in the previous chapter, as some of you may know, I'm a bit of a sadist so..yeah...^^ AND MANY MANY APOLOGIES FOR THE BRUTAL DELAY! .

 **INFO ON THE CHAPTER:** So, in this chapter, we finally found out who died and why Winry got that letter. Also, we find out more about Winry's life as a mechanic, her thoughts and with quick intervals switching to the daily lives of Riza, Mei, Gracia (will be introduced next chapter!), Mrs. Bradley (will be introduced next chapter!) Lena and Lan Fan!

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Pouda-P:** haha that's ok, don't worry about it! ;) Meh, I try (being evil ^^) Thank you very much! Haha oh I can gurantee that will be a funny scene! Especially since Winry had mentioned in her first letter she had a dog named Den but Ed didn't remember it or connect the dots :3

 **Bob:** Ohhh a redhead! Hmm...maybe, I can be a real pain in the ass and a bitch when I'm angry ( no offense to redheads! It was just a joke ^^) haha I can imagine that being a funny encounter. Greed my husbando...(cough – ok he's for Lan Fan/Lena – cough)

 **Cassey:** Just read what I wrote at the end of this chapter, I wrote a quick note.

 **GrumpyCatWriter101:** haha Thanks! It really means a lot to me that you like my story, though I'm aiming to improve so I can write at least half decent stories in the future (sweat drop) Thanks for the compliment (for my OC) I try! :3

 **Panic:** Sometimes I ask if we can subconsciously communicate with each-other...or maybe I'm too obvious, that could be it too :P haha You're right, I think I'm one of the last authors who would go killing off my main character after just a few chapters XD BTW: Would you mind if I upload those wonderful pictures you drew based on my fanfics on my instagram account? I would, of course, give you full on credit for them don't worry! ;)

 **Daughterofapollo12345:** haha no problem! Weeeeelll...read the chapter and you'll find out! ;)

 **Pfeh:** Hi there! :) Really? You aren't joking? Thank you! It really means a lot to me to be praised so highly! (sweat drop) haha I hope I won't disappoint with this chapter! And I'm sorry for the delay, exams have been sucking out my soul for the past few weeks. . Hm...a nightmare, well yeah, could be but in truth, I considered that idea to come in later chapters. In truth...I was just being mean xd

 **Pictures or other** info on my stories: find also on my **_Instagram account "DragonRedfox"_**

 **Enjoy reading everyone and thank you for your continued support!**

* * *

 **Resembool, Central and Us**

 _The Rockbell's – Automail Shop_

"Hm...it seems like the engine is malfunctioning again, have you refreshed the oil tank Winry?" the experienced, former engineer Pinako rubbed her chin, wrinkled but wise eyes locked on the problem at hand.

Winry nodded, meticulously cleaning out the dirt and grime from the various carbon enforced tubes and pipes, "Yeah, I did. The four-stroke combustion cycle is there to convert gasoline into motion, but I don't think that the owner had a good idea on what type of oil to feed his vehicle with...he should use a diesel engine instead of a gasoline engine. Diesels are far cheaper to run, not to mention they are almost twice as effective as gasolines. Diesel engines use direct fuel injection, which are perfect for long distance travels," Winry rubbed her forehead in frustration, "Especially since the owner owns a truck..." she sighed, feeling her nerves starting to fray at its seams by the minute.

Pinako smiled at her granddaughter and saw a lot of her own deceased daughter in her, the physical resemblance aside, "Why don't you take a break? Even hard working engineers need breaks to fuel that brain of theirs," she joked by patting Winry's blonde head, which was adorned with a simple, green bandanna. Her granddaughter pouted but relented, taking off her brown working gloves and throwing them aside on her workbench, bandanna undone and resting beside them.

She strolled to a simple chair and grabbed a glass of water, once she sat down and drank a few gulps, Pinako's brow creased in worry and she tentatively asked, "Winry, what happened the other day when you received that letter?"

Winry sighed, brushing her hair back away from her eyes and behind her ear, holding her glass in hand, "The postman came to give me a letter and I thought Ed had replied back..."

 _Flashback_

"It's a letter from the State Military..." he paused, a grim look settling on his normally kind, open features, "They send them out whenever a soldier has fallen in battle..."

Winry's eyes widened, her whole body turning rigid and her hands shaking slightly, quickly, she ripped open the letter.

 _"_ _W-what?! That can't be! I don't have anyone in the military! Why would-how could?! Wait...no...it couldn't be him...no...no...it can't be!"_ Winry's thoughts were scrambled and uncoordinated, a jumbled mess in the growing fear she was experiencing as a sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach.

She skipped the addresses of the sender and recipient above and read the first sentence.

" _With our sincerest apologies we have to inform you of the death of-"_

The letter fell from her hands.

The minute it fell to the floor, Winry quickly grabbed it, picking it up off the floor and examining every detail on the letter.

Then she read the name of the soldier that had fallen in battle.

 _James Ryan_

Blue eyes cleared with each passing bat of eyelashes, her hands ceased to shake after several minutes of processing the information. Her eyes shot up quickly to the recipients address.

It wasn't her own.

It wasn't even her name.

 _Emma Ryan_

Her heart fell. That was her neighbor a few houses down, she didn't know her very well, only met her occasionally but she knew she was a kind but lonely woman, due to her husband...being a soldier...

Winry clutched the letter in her hands, shame filling her being as she turned her head, holding out the letter to the confused mailman, "It's not addressed to me, but my neighbor,"

The reaction was immediate. The mailman quickly took the letter, sealing it securely back in its place and pocketing it in his bag, bowing his head in apology, "My sincerest apologies Miss Rockbell! I-I can't explain how sorry I am for this misunderstanding, please-"

Winry lifted her head, smiling tightly at the nervous wreck of a man before her, "Please, don't worry, it's alright, just...please send my condolences to the woman receiving this letter alright?" the man stopped his storm of apologies and nodded, shoulders slumping in defeat and shame as he walked away, back toward his white van.

Winry released a big sigh of relief, slumping heavily on the small chair she kept in her garage, tiredly, she ran a hand down her face.

Her heart had almost stopped for a moment, it was never nice hearing somebody die, but the knowledge that it could have been someone her friends knew well and she herself wanted to get to know...it had terrified her at that moment. She may not know who Edward Elric was exactly, but she thought he wasn't a bad guy and would like to get to know him better.

She also hoped he would be alright – wherever he was.

 _Flashback End_

Pinako frowned thoughtfully, looking at her tired granddaughter, "Does it still worry you?" she watched how Winry straightened her hunched back and looked at her.

"No, not really, but I still didn't get a reply from him..." she bit her bottom lip, worry flashing in her blue eyes that contrasted with her blonde hair.

Pinako smiled, resting a frail, wrinkled hand on top of her shoulder, "I wouldn't worry too much about it, these letters take a while to even arrive at the office," Pinako sighed, relieved to hear nothing bad had happened to anyone.

In times like these, where war had broken out and was just outside the border, everyone was on edge, Pinako knew, if this war continued any longer, it would bring dire casualties to their country as well as others involved.

She wasn't fooled by the news, while for at least half of what was broadcast on the radio and TV daily was true, the other half was heavily influenced and edited by the media as fodder to the audience. Sometimes they spread unneeded panic where it wasn't necessary, other times they downplayed serious situations until a disaster happened...

She stroked Winry's soft cheek, smiling when a smile overcame her face and she giggled. Pinako shook her head, hugging her granddaughter before taking her pipe out of her breast pocket and heading for the opening to the garage.

"Granny, you know you shouldn't use that too much, doctor's orders," Winry warned softly, shaking her head at her old but stubborn grandmother.

Pinako grinned, pipe in mouth, waving at Winry as she continued on forward, "A few years of good drinking and smoking haven't killed me yet, so what's there to say about a few drags a day? A few smokes a day keep the doctor at bay," she released a short laugh.

Winry laughed a bit as well, shaking her head once again, "I think you got that backwards granny!" she couldn't help but dismiss the worry she felt for her grandmother. She may be old but she was in perfect health, the woman rarely ever got ill despite her old drinking habits and her ever present smoking habits.

However, she did cut back on the pipes. She refrained from smoking her pipe in the morning at all, took a few drags in the day when she was stressed or worried and would allow herself the pleasure of enjoying long, drawn out drags of the smoke at night, sitting outside in her chair on her balcony, enjoying the cool night breeze of Resembool, their small but lovely rural village.

Winry scratched at a spot on her head and decided to call Riza to see what she was doing, she was contemplating of calling everyone just to check in as she searched for 'Riza Mustang' on her phone, dialing her number.

It rang exactly two times until the woman picked it up with a even, " _Hello Winry,"_

Winry smiled, "Hi Riza, I'm not disturbing am I?" for a brief moment, she was afraid she was. Riza was a busy woman, she was leading the whole office in the State Military so it was no surprise she rarely got time to sit back and talk.

" _Don't worry, you're not. But I'm afraid I'm not able to talk for very long Winry, it's been a commotion this whole morning,"_ Winry could hear how Riza sighed in exasperation through the phone and she cringed.

Usually when Riza of all people seemed stressed out, then the situation was far more concerning than she thought at first. She almost didn't dare to ask, but she forced the words out of her mouth, "Um, is there any trouble at the border?" she nervously picked at her nails.

" _Not really as far as I'm informed. I've talked to Roy a few hours ago, he said they were recuperating and taking care of the soldiers that have been held captive by Drachma. There have been no sightings of Drachma soldiers near the border as of yet, so I take that as a positive sign."_ Winry exhaled slowly in relief, feeling her heart return to its normal steady thumping within her ribcage, she perked up when Riza said her name though," _Oh and Winry,"_

"Yes?" Winry was curious, usually Riza would apologize for her lack of time and go to work, but it seemed she had something to ask.

 _"_ _A letter has gotten in from the parcel office, it's from Edward, would you like for me to send a courier to your shop or do you want me to personally hand it to you?"_ Riza asked politely and Winry could hear the smile in her voice.

The blonde grinned, "Oh, um, well if you really don't mind-" before she could even finish her sentence, Riza interrupted her with a far too mischievous voice.

" _Alright, that's settled, I'll bring it to you as soon as I'm done with work. Goodbye Winry, have a nice day!"_ she abruptly hung up and the skilled mechanic had to take a few moments to collect herself before she blushed.

"I knew it...you can't be married to Mustang of all people and not be a little sly yourself..." she shook her head, questioning if it was a good thing Riza spent any more time with Roy, least she adopted more of his quirky habits and sly remarks.

The blonde woman sighed, plucking her well worn gloves from the workbench and donning them on, "Let's see..." she stuck her tongue out thoughtfully, placing her goggles over her eyes.

She was looking at a dented bolt, what caused it's deformed shape was beyond her, since the owner had convinced her he had just bought it from the store recently and hadn't touched it since, he also convinced her by the time of the purchase, it had been in peak condition.

 _"_ _What in the world am I doing...looking at a deformed bolt like some scientists analyzing the behavior of rats in a lab..."_ she slumped dramatically on her chair, asking herself when she sank so low as to waste her time on inspecting a _single_ bolt and not the whole package.

Well...the owner paid _very_ good money, a typical cocky rich man of higher status, what status he didn't reveal to her but it also didn't matter, she desperately needed money and if she had to get it by looking at a single bolt all day then so be it. She had debts, like everyone else, and she didn't finish paying off her tuition fees quite yet there was that too. And the bolt was made of very high quality mixed metal, stainless steel and titanium.

...Not to mention those pretty neat extracurricular classes granny Pinako financially aided her with in order to develop her medical knowledge. Not only was she fixing cars and the usual like every other mechanic, but she also imbued medicine in her work as well, for creating artificial limbs and the like. Winry was proud of her work, having been last year's second place in the annual Automail Contest.

If there was one thing Winry was very proud and positively obsessed about, it was automail and her work in general. Her house alone, while clean and tidy, was still littered here and there with bolts and screws, not to mention unfinished artificial limbs she was working on constructing in her special work room she had at home. She used to work in her garage, but as it was far too cold in winter, and it would damage her projects, she had turned her guest room into her work room. She never had any guests anyway, at least not ones that were sleeping over.

If any of her friends wanted to sleep over, they would usually make a huge bed out of the floor or simply use her water bed. However, Winry never liked to sleep on that, good thing she didn't have to too. She used to love it as a child, but in time she increasingly had the feeling of losing control while she tossed and turned in bed, as she couldn't control the water that moved with her body.

Winry sighed, involuntarily remembering Pinako's words after her dear grandmother had visited her once, " _Child, you have to go out of the house a bit more often. Working on automail is fine, but even I had more company back in my rowdy days than you do now,"_ she said those words bluntly and with a fond twinkle in her eye and Winry still shivered in mild disgust and fear at the thought of it.

Nobody liked imagining their grandma that way, especially old sassy Pinako. The woman was pretty healthy and agile for her age, but some things were better left unsaid and unknown.

She sighed, heading back to work as she tied her bandanna around her head.

* * *

"So, heard anything from Greed lately?" the auburn haired young woman asked, tilting her head to the side as she averted a incoming punch from her opponent and friend.

Lena monitored her movements, circling her before aiming a fast high kick to her stomach, her friend dodged, doing a back flip and coming at her with another right hook. Lena crossed her arms, not minding the impact as her friend's fist hit her forearm. She pushed her away and they continued dancing around each-other that way.

"If you see your opponent is trying to disrupt your balance plant your feet firmly on the ground and guard whenever possible! If he tries to kick your legs, make a quick jump and try countering with a punch," Lena demonstrated as she talked, her partner and fellow coworker moving in synch.

Their class, a group ranging from teenagers to adults, looked on attentively, small gasps of amazement or surprise could be heard as Lena fought like a graceful dancer on stage, capturing the attention of her pupils.

Lena concentrated back on her partner and replied in a low tone, "He said Drachma didn't make any problems lately, so they are fine. There have been many injured but thankfully nobody died. He said he was fine," she tried not letting much emotion show on her face, opting to stay concentrated on the task at hand.

Her coworker dodged her swing, delivering a elbow to her ribs, but just so, not intending to hurt, "Are you sure? You don't sound convinced," she cast her a worried glance over her shoulder.

Lena shrugged briefly, "Yeah, I'm sure," it was a lie, but anything to keep her sanity.

Her friend smiled, "Hey, my brother used to be there too. I know how hard it is, being closed off is the worst thing you can do Lena, have you considered talking to a therapist?" Lena huffed as she jumped away from her friend's fist.

"No and I don't intend to. I don't need medications," Lena growled lowly.

She tried again, gently, "What about a psychologist? A psychotherapist? Lena, you've been off ever since he left, I'm just worrying about you. I know it's difficult but I don't think Greed would want for you to be like this," she smiled, stopping the training session.

The young woman, about Lena's age, turned around to address their group, announcing the course officially over but that they should wait in order to discuss their next meeting and take a break.

The two women moved to a more private spot farther away from the group, away from curious ears.

Lena smiled wryly, "I tried closing my eyes..." she breathed deeply, her bandaged fists closed.

"Closing your eyes?" her friend, Jess, cocked her head in curiosity, feeling her friend's mood shift.

Lena nodded silently, "Yeah...but..." she turned her head to look at her with a pained, sad expression, "I can still see the cruel reality..." her friend frowned, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly.

Lena nodded, silently thanking her, before she stretched and threw a towel over her shoulder, "Tell the rest that the next lesson is next week on Monday at 8. I...need to clear my head for a bit," she smiled.

Her friend grew a worried look, "Don't do anything stupid alright? Just call if you need anything," she lightly punched her shoulder before grabbing her water bottle and jogging lightly toward their group to inform them of the changed schedule.

Lena just smiled softly after Jess, sighing heavily before she gathered her things and entered the changing room.

A million thoughts ran through her mind as she took off her sweaty shirt, methodically removing the protective guards and light armor from her body.

 _"_ _Was he alright? Where could he be now? He didn't write or call in over two weeks...did Drachma attack again? Was he injured? Did they station him somewhere else?"_ with every new thought, feelings of doubt and fear bubbled inside her.

Furious at herself, she threw her clothes on the bench and grabbed her towel, marching toward the shower.

The water was scalding hot as it beat down her body, eyes unseeing as they zeroed in on the white tiled wall in front of her, her fist clenched.

 _"_ _Be sure to stay safe for me will you? I know you're strong and can do anything by yourself but...you know I never stop worrying." she said that with a hint of a smile, holding his hand tightly in hers as the chopper overhead roared loudly._

 _Greed smiled tenderly, dropping his guard and hugging her to his chest, "Yeah...will do babe. You stay safe for me too alright? I don't want to hear that something happens to you or you crying for an ass like me alright? Whatever happens, I love you, ya know that sweets," he rubbed her cheek, smiling when she tried to blink back her tears._

 _"_ _Why do you have to be so cheesy you idiot..." she mumbled, burying her face in his chest, the vibrations of his chuckles soothing her slightly._

 _She gripped his uniform, "Greed...I have a bad feeling about this...you don't have to go, they have enough soldiers..." she bit her bottom lip, trying to deny what was happening, trying to deny the thing called reality._

 _Greed frowned, rubbing affectionate, soothing strokes across her back and head, "I'm sorry Lena, you know I can't do that. Mustang and the rest are there too, ya know someone's gotta show them how it's done," he broke away to look at her and gave her his famous grin._

 _She managed a small smile, "Yeah..." she looked down at her shoes and his combat boots, the large, dark green bag next to his feet._

 _"_ _Lena-" Greed began but his girlfriend of two years surprised him by cutting him off._

 _"_ _M-make sure you write me at least once a week! So, I know you're alright! If you aren't able to write that often then just tell me you can't! Once a month is fine too! We have to make skype calls too! And-and you have to send me a few pictures every once and a while, so I can see you aren't injured or lying somewhere on the ground!" with tears in her eyes, she rapidly said all of this, not managing to keep the quiver out of her voice._

 _Greed remained silent, clenching his fist at seeing his beloved in such despair, from the corner of his eye, he saw a officer approaching them, Greed kept one arm wrapped around his crying girlfriend, while he glared daggers at the man, willing him to turn around and not approach him._

 _The officer noticed the glare, his eyes lowered to see the crying woman and he quickly made up his mind to change course of direction as he returned back to the barracks, his pace a bit quicker than before._

 _Greed sighed, closing his eyes, "You know what I see when I close my eyes?" he whispered, still rubbing her shaking back._

 _Lena joked half heartedly, "Darkness? Greed you don't have to comfort me with cliché lines-"_

 _He ignored her and continued, "Tch, yeah that too, but I also don't see one fucking reason to really live. Sure, I got those pansies called friends, but what good are they if I don't have the most amazing badass woman at my side?" he grinned, "Hell, before you came in and crashed the party, I wasn't what some would call a good guy. Or at least a decent one. I picked fights sometimes, I drank sometimes and I had a few women at my sides that only cared about my looks. I kept feeling that insatiable avarice inside me. No matter what I did, money, women, nothing quenched it." He paused, looking into her eyes._

 _He chuckled, "Then I met you through Lan Fan, she told me you were a real catch and were single. Being the bastard I was, I took the bait, I thought though you were ugly as hell so I didn't expect much. But when I actually met you and talked to you...let's just say you weren't one to be punished around or wrapped around my finger like those other girls. You didn't mind my cussing, because you cussed too. You didn't like me fighting, but talked to me to bring me back to my senses. If I drank, you emptied the bottles and hit my head with them and said,' See? Alcohol's a bitch,'" she giggled quietly when he mentioned that._

 _Greed chuckled too, " I stopped drinking, stopped seeing other women, stopped considering to even make a gang-"_

 _"_ _Wait, you considered creating a gang?!" Lena's eyes widened._

 _"_ _-Anyway, what I mean to say is, all that bullshit about 'making me a better man' and stuff? I'm better but I'm still the old Greed, I just stopped doing bullshit as often...or I'm doing bullshit with you." He smirked, patting her head, "You mean the world to me, more than I'll ever be able to say," his gaze was soft, warm violets staring at her teary brown._

 _She sobbed, clutching his uniform and kissing him hard, he kissed her back with the same intensity and after they broke apart, they were smiling a bit._

 _"_ _Don't talk to strangers ok? I heard they were nasty..." she smiled, running a hand through his hair._

 _He chuckled and grinned widely, "No promises sweets," his gaze softened again and he pulled her close, taking in the scent of her shampoo and her own musky scent as well as his own scent from the scarf she wore around her neck, his scarf._

 _He smiled._

 _"_ _Take care," he whispered._

 _"_ _Only if you will," she retorted softly._

She sighed and whispered, "Only if you will..." for a moment, she remained standing motionless under the falling water.

Then she grinned, "Yeah...", the thought that shot through her head at this moment caused her to smile, " _Whatever happens, I love you, you know that sweets,"_

"Idiot..." she wiped a tear away out of the corner of her eye, before she straightened up and started furiously washing herself, nearly jumping out of the shower, clad in a long towel.

She met her coworker in the changing room, who looked startled by her sudden good mood, "Uh...Lena? Are you alright?" she rose an eyebrow.

The brunette grinned, "Course I am! Ah, by the way, I'm going over to Mei, you need anything before I head out?" she quickly dressed, a smile on her face.

"U-uh...no, no...I don't think so..." she looked on as Lena slung her back over her shoulder and gave her a two finger salute.

"Right! I'm off bye Jess!" she sped toward the door like the wind.

Jessica was left standing there like a wondering fool.

* * *

"Gotta get my head outta the gutter," were Lena's only thoughts as she walked her way around people, her gym bag slung over her shoulder as she visualized her route to Winry's shop.

" _I wonder if Ed wrote her again? Last time I checked, it's been a little over a week, I hope nothing bad happened to the boys."_ She grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and turned the screen on, swiping over it and typing her password into it before selecting the contacts menu and scrolling down to 'Riza'.

" _Hm...I didn't call Riza for a few days either...I don't even know if I should, that woman's as busy almost as that idiot husband of hers,"_ Lena smiled fondly as she convinced herself a quick call wouldn't be the end of the world.

The phone rang and soon enough, after two rings, Riza picked up with a semi-breathless tone, " _Hello Lena,"_

The brunette rose an eyebrow in curiosity, hearing the labored breaths of her friend through the communication device, "Hey, you alright? You sound out of breath there," she scratched her cheek.

She heard shuffling, a chair on wheels being swiveled away probably for Riza to sit on, " _My apologies, I've been exercising to clear my mind a bit,"_

Lena chuckled, shaking her head, " _Looks like I'm not the only one who has to clear her mind, huh?"_ she cleared her throat with a relieved smile, "Ah, I see. No worries, but you usually exercise when work is too much. How is it going in the office? Any news? Good or bad?" Lena cringed, she sincerely hoped there wouldn't be any bad news. But it was nearly impossible for a profession such as theirs.

Riza paused for a minute and Lena knew immediately something wasn't quite right, " _Roy called a few days ago, he reported to General Bradley that their numbers have suffered quite a bit. Bradley's sending in for reinforcements but it would take a few days for them to arrive, so far no casualties among our ranks. Greed is fine too,"_ Riza ended with a smile, her tone lighter than at the beginning.

Lena felt embarrassment creeping up on her and a eerie sadness settling in the pit of her stomach, "S-sorry...I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm just worried about Greed you know. I'm worried for the others too of course but I-"

Riza interrupted her calmly, " _I know Lena, don't worry. I know, it's only natural. I can assure he is fine, he is driving Roy nuts in fact,"_ Riza gave a short, amused laugh and Lena couldn't contain her laugh as well.

"Yeah...that's my guy alright. Tell me – did Edward reply to Winry yet? I haven't talked to her today yet so I'm afraid I'm not informed at all," she readjusted her bag over her shoulder, looking left and right before crossing the street towards her car, keys jiggling in her jacket pocket.

Riza's tone suddenly turned sly and Lena couldn't help but grin, " _Well..."_ Riza dragged out the "well" mischievously and Lena suddenly felt like a schoolgirl sharing secrets with her best friend.

She grinned wider, "Well? Spit it out sharpshooter, I want to hear all the details," she could nearly picture Riza's smirk.

" _I'm not authorized to glance at the letter's content...unfortunately, it had somehow been ripped open and the letter had fallen out of its envelope somehow,_ " at Riza's lame attempt at an excuse, Lena burst into laughter, covering her mouth to try and quench the giggles coming out of her.

"Oh geez woman! That's even worse than when Greed's trying to lie! Well, now that you've already broken the law, let me in on it," she fished around for her keys with one hand while she held the phone with the other.

" _I haven't read the whole letter though, for the sake of Winry's as well as Edward's privacy but I have caught glimpses of it. I've read that I was a nice person, I've noticed the word "sexy" in it and that he asked what eye color she had,"_ Riza's sounded surprisingly proud of herself.

Lena snorted in half laughter, shaking her head, "Oh? That dirty huh? Geez, that's worse than the smut Greed and I come up with," she coughed into her hand, "Anyway, sexy? Seriously? What the hell did he write that he had to use the word 'sexy'? I sure hope he isn't a pervert...or worse, influenced by Greed," Lena rolled her eyes, fearing for the man's mental state after spending so much time with her boyfriend.

Riza laughed, " _I wouldn't worry about the context. It was quite harmless really, it was meant in a joking demeanor in reference to his eyes being gold and capturing the attention of women, that was all really,"_ suddenly Riza's joking tone diminished, " _Say, don't you have work now? How comes you're free to talk?"_

Lena opened the door of her car and threw in her gym bag, setting it on the passenger's seat as she sat on the driver's seat and closed the door, "Well, I could be asking you that too! Anyway, I've decided to have a few days off from work, Jess said it was alright for us to schedule training until next week."

There was a long silence, Lena just fastened her seatbelt and turned on the engine when she heard Riza say quietly, " _Any particular reason for it? You usually rarely ever miss work, let alone freely cancel some of your classes. Anything I should know?"_ the worry was evident as Riza spoke to her, but it only made her feel bad.

" _Listen up, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I'm just saying the others and I are there for you should you need us, alright? I know the struggle and I learned it helps to share your worries over some good movies, popcorn and good friends,"_ it warmed Lena's heart to hear such touching words coming from the former sharpshooter.

She lowered her head, playing with the keychain on her car keys, "Yeah...I know, I really appreciate the concern Riza. Really. I just...need to figure some things out, clear my head a bit you know. I'll go visit Winry now to see how she's doing, you could come over to my house later on if you want, I'll invite Mei and Lan Fan later too," she ran a hand through her hair.

" _Alright, I'll be there. Take care would you?"_ Riza was still concerned.

Lena chuckled, "Sure thing, you have nothing to worry about sharpshooter. Now go back to work, I know you're dying to fill out Roy's paperwork again," she grinned when she heard Riza's exasperated sigh.

" _No matter how many years of marriage we have behind us, that man will never cease to detest paperwork,"_ both women laughed before bidding goodbye to each-other and hanging up.

Lena stored her phone in the compartment under the gearshift and gripped the steering wheel firmly.

She could do this, after all Greed was alright and nothing very bad happened as of yet.

"... _Right?_ " she shook her head from those thoughts and pressed down on the gas pedal, driving off toward the Rockbell shop.

* * *

"Mei!" Lan Fan called her friend over, smiling when the shorter woman spotted her and jogged toward her, dropping down onto the chair in the cafeteria and sighing heavily in exhaustion.

" _Ugh_! I _hate_ this traffic! Sometimes I wish I were a real ninja so I could just fly from place to place!" Mei groaned, crossing her arms childishly and frowning.

Lan Fan smiled, shaking her head, "I don't think ninjas could ever fly, they could just jump really high,"

"I know...but still..." Mei straightened up, sneaking a glance at the food, "So, is the food any good?" she glanced down at Lan Fan's modest choice of a meal.

A chicken breast with sauce, salad and mashes potatoes along with a slice of cake for dessert and selected fruits on another smaller platter.

Lan Fan shrugged, "It is quite alright...I suppose,"

After a long silence and a lot of thinking, Mei stuck her tongue out, obviously disagreeing with Lan Fan's poor choice of words to describe her short break meal. Lan Fan chuckled, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Right...anyway, Lena texted me and asked if you and I are willing to go to her house and spend some time together? We could watch scary movies, maybe even have a sleepover, then we can talk about my dear, lovely Alphonse and-" Lan Fan quickly held a hand up, stopping her friend's rapid speech.

"That sounds nice," she simply said, glad to have stopped the otherwise never ending but sweet praising of her boyfriend.

"So, heard anything from Ling?" Mei asked curiously.

Lan Fan smirked.

 **Phew...** I'm really sorry for not updating in a while...you guys can imagine how the past few weeks have been hell on earth for me. Exams after exams...but I pulled through! Scored a few very good marks and improved other...not that great marks ^,^. **_QUICK NOTE:_** in " **One Shots** " in my other collection of one shots, I'll update SOON! The next chapter will be centering around Ling going back in time as promised! Thanks for your patience! (bows)


	8. And the days go by

**Hi everyone!** Alright, so school started and I'm back on "no-nonsense school mode" where I burn myself out until I get good marks that satisfy me...yeah, that's usually accompanied by a (un-)healthy dose of stress coupled with irritation and topped with a bit of time pressure...yeah. _Ahem_ , also for the fact that I'm not able to write as much as I really want to, so I hope I can at least update on every weekend. :) I hope everyone's doing fine on their own studies and best of **luck to everyone!**

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Kayla Ackerman-Smith:** Aw thank you a lot! :) I'm glad you like it!

 **Pfeh:** (blushes) Thank you! It makes me happy to know the chapter wasn't a drag! (laughs) Oh tell me about it, I've read countless of them too and yeah normally they are a bit...meh, I don't want to belittle anyone's writing, especially since my own isn't good, but I wouldn't simply read anymore AU's after so many turning out...not really ok-ish. ^^" haha Thanks for the compliments really! :3 Ninth grade huh? That takes me back...(lol I'm 18 and talking like a 60-year old) Ahem...right XD It's ok to ramble, I do that too often ^^ Nah, I have normal tests though most of them last 2 hours or even 3, depends on the subject really.

 **INFO ON THE CHAPTER:** Let's see, in this chapter, I promised that I'll introduce Gracia (with Elicia) and Mrs. Bradley (which means Selim will also make an appearance!)! I've decided to leave the whole "family being secret Homunculi scheme" in this story, **however** because Homunculi don't exist in my story in the same way they do in the FMA universe, there will be minor changes. Like: **The Philosopher's Stone '** exists' but isn't made of souls from humans, rather it leans toward RL (real life). Alchemists from old and historians as well as scientists have researched the mere existence of the Stone but it has never been confirmed, which is why there will be certain plots and twists in the story accordingly as it goes.

* * *

 **And the days go by**

 ** _Form No. 175_**

 ** _Subject: CLASSIFIED_**

 **Sender:** ** _Main Base, Amestris Border, Lieut. Gen. Edward Elric_**

 ** _To: Second Base, Amestris Border, Gen. Roy Mustang,_**

 _Gen. Mustang,_

 _Fort Briggs needs backup. STOP. Drachma ambushed them at night. STOP. Armstrong is keeping them at bay but more are coming. STOP. Send Kimblee out. STOP. ASAP. STOP. Armstrong is injured. STOP. Send for a medic there. STOP. NOT Alphonse. STOP._

 _Lieutenant General Edward Elric_

Gloved fingers tightened on the telegram in his hands, the paper contorting its shape and previous smoothness to the General's irritation.

"Kimblee," he growled, fists at his side, "Head out for Fort Briggs as soon as you can, preferably right away. Take a medic with you, General Armstrong is injured, I don't know how severe but if they informed Edward then it must be something to worry about," Kimblee looked at his superior, his eyes moving toward the telegram.

"I see, so Drachma decided to attack at Fort Briggs as well? Perhaps their ambush a few days ago had been meant as a diversion, directing some of our soldiers here instead of Fort Briggs." Kimblee narrowed his eyes, the blue in them turning icy cold.

Roy frowned, "Even if that may be so, General Armstrong is a force to be reckoned with and her men on the battlefield. Just who did they send out to possibly injure and overwhelm them?" a growing unease settled into the pit of his stomach and he quickly decided to send out a telegram.

* * *

 ** _Form No. 176_**

 ** _Subject: CLASSIFIED_**

 **Sender:** ** _Second Base, Amestris Border, Gen. Roy Mustang_**

 ** _To: Main Base, Amestris Border, Lieut. Gen. Edward Elric_**

 _Edward,_

 _Understood. STOP. Kimblee is on his way. STOP. He will collect Ling as medical assistance. STOP. If Gen. Armstrong is severely injured we have no choice but to send out Alphonse as well. STOP. He is your brother but he is also a medic to the team. STOP. His job is to heal our people. STOP. I understand your viewpoint, but he chose his job. STOP. If he is smarter than his brother, he will return unscathed. STOP. Stay alert, Drachma may be plotting something. STOP._

 _General Mustang_

Ed grit his teeth, but took a calming breath, eyebrows furrowed, "Damn it Mustang..." he placed the telegram on his desk and walked toward the large table in the middle of the tent, his eyes focusing on the large map spread out on it.

Red and blue pins marked their territories, Drachma and Amestris respectively, pinpointing each location where a confrontation between the two opposing countries came to be. Ed's gold eyed gaze swept across the territory as a whole, trying to make out a pattern.

With another pin, a red one, Ed marked the location they've attacked them recently, at Fort Briggs. It hadn't been the first time, no, but it had been the first time since four months ago where they have established a shaky Non-Aggression pact with Drachma in order to resupply themselves and send the injured to the lazarettos ( **A/N: infirmary for soldiers).** The pact was planned to last six months and only four of them passed. Ed grit his teeth in anger, slamming his fist down on the map, the sturdy wooden table vibrating with the force.

"Damn them..." he growled under his breath, eyes blazing angrily at the thought of one of their strongest forces, General Olivier Armstrong, to be injured, on the battlefront at that.

Contrary to their bases here, an arctic climate ruled over Fort Briggs, as it was the border to Drachma directly, a land infamous for its arctic weather. However, that made imports of medical supplies far more difficult than usually. Not to mention sending out soldiers, since Amestrian soldiers aren't accustomed to the icy cold of the North, their forces weren't as strong battling against Drachma soldiers, where the freezing temperatures were second nature to them.

Except Fort Briggs.

The soldiers at Fort Briggs, under the direct command of General Olivier Armstrong, were as battle hardened and ferocious in battle as they came. Rumors told already of their battle prowess and their unbreakable teamwork as well as their leader, depicted to be a formidable woman in and outside of the battlefield _not_ to be trifled with if one valued their life.

With her trusty saber at her side, one that had been passed down her family line for generations, she wielded it like it was an extension of her arm, with lightning speed and deadly precision she was capable of disarming even the best soldiers with a mere flick of her wrist. Not to mention of her physical strength, many believed as a woman she wouldn't pose much of a threat in terms of physical strength.

The soldiers that had thought so had reality biting them in the ass after an encounter with the fierce woman. The Armstrong family had been a wealthy one, but the peculiar thing about them was not only their wealth and their long line of generations, but the immense physical strength and pride of their offspring. Olivier and her younger brother Alex were forces to be reckoned with, one doubts that and they come back hanging on by a thin thread to life.

But those weren't the only things that made Fort Briggs so terrifying, it was also their unwavering loyalty and trust in their commander and vice versa. While Olivier seemed a cold, heartless woman even ruthless at times, nobody who knew her well enough could deny the deep care she showed toward her soldiers. She had a notorious reputation of never leaving the battlefield without every one of her men secured to safety and she never left any behind. If any were presented with the possibility of staying behind and dying, she personally made sure that illusion only stayed what it was in her mind – an illusion.

And that was what made Mustang worry the most.

He knew Olivier well enough to be highly suspicious if not downright worried, when hearing news such as her being so severely injured on the battlefield for them to send out a telegram and call for medical assistance. The woman was known to be extremely stubborn, if she had allowed one of her men to send that telegram, then it must be something big.

Mustang wasn't willing to wait in order to find out.

Kimblee had headed out only two hours after Mustang received the telegram.

* * *

"Greed," Ed called, spotting the man leaning against a wooden support beam inside the tent, partly hidden by the shadows with his arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other.

"Captain?" the response was slightly playfully but Ed had no doubt Greed was focused on the task at hand.

"I want you to go with Ling and Kimblee over to Fort Briggs. Armstrong is injured and we don't know what their exact status is, there isn't much we can go by on the telegram. I suspect Alex will go once he hears word about his sister being injured so you won't be alone there," Ed looked over the map again.

Greed rolled his eyes and moved off the beam, toward the table in the light, " _Ugh_ , that sparkling gorilla with the baby hair again. I swear if he hugs me one more time..." a shiver ran down Greed's spine and he rubbed his arm uncomfortably.

Violet eyes narrowed at the map, "You noticed something?"

Ed's gaze narrowed and he looked at the map again, the attacks were irregular, not following a certain pattern or time span and they all happened at largely different locations for them to pose a great threat to them.

What did Greed see that he didn't?

Greed pointed a dark gloved hand in the middle, Central, "They all circle Central," Ed's eyes widened, Greed scoffed, "And they're coming closer,"

Ed locked gazes with Greed, "Damn it..."

Greed rose an eyebrow, "You in this Captain? I thought someone like you would have noticed that right away, what's wrong? Getting distracted by a certain blonde girl are we?" Greed smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ed couldn't prevent the blush from spreading on his cheeks as he tried to keep his temper down, "T-that's not it! Shut up and do your work!" Ed growled.

Greed grinned, " _I_ am doing my work," he chuckled when Ed shot him a dark, warning look.

The blonde smirked, "So, I heard Lena's growing bored of you and searching for some other guy-"

"SHUT UP YA MDIGET!" Greed barked into his face.

Ed barked back comically, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LITTLE BEANSPROUT MID-"

Greed laughed shortly, but it was anything but happy, "I haven't seen her in a long time, did I?" a serious, bitter look shadowed Greed's eyes, the frown on his face indicating just how much in a bad mood he was.

Ed stopped his ranting, a look of realization and sympathy crossing his features, he didn't say anything, didn't know what to say. He didn't have a girlfriend waiting for him home, he had his friends, but it wasn't the same. No matter how dense Edward seemed at some situations, he did understand a few things.

Greed ran a hand over his mouth, caressing his slight stubble, "Heh, when was the last time I even shaved? Lena usually told me when my stubble become too sharp...she usually said I looked better off without a stubble..." his eyes held a look of longing and sadness, "I can still remember how she kicks me off the bed sometimes when she's sleeping...and when I try to get back on she usually grabs me like a stuffed toy and nearly suffocates me...strange woman," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I miss those things..."

Ed felt awkward, like a third wheel, he didn't know what those things felt like, since he never had a girlfriend before. He hadn't had much time imagining or pursuing it either, with what their mother died early of an illness and their father fallen in the war...as an older brother, it had been his task to partly raise Al and protect and care for him. Whenever his friends would try to get him with some girl, he had been so awkward that the girl usually left him after half an hour.

Before enrolling in the military and becoming a soldier, he had passionately studied alchemy and had a knack for it. However, apparently whenever he had brought it up on several occasions on his few dates, it seemed girls hadn't taken a liking to it, dubbing it as "boring" and "if he had other hobbies".

Greed looked at Ed, "Hm, sorry, got lost in thoughts," Greed spread his hands out on the map, gaze focused and sharp, yet the lingering feelings of loneliness were still present.

Edward cleared his throat, "Uh...do you want to-"

Greed's voice was sharp, "No," he lifted his violet gaze to his friend, "Don't take it personally, but there's nothing you can do about it. I'm only waiting for this whole damn war to be over with so I can go back home," while his tone had a certain sharpness to it, it had by no means any hostile feelings directed toward him, rather at the situation they were in.

There was a suffocating silence between the two men before Ed found the courage to speak, "Greed," the soldier in question looked at him, "I may not know what it feels like to have someone waiting back home like that...but I know the feeling of wanting to go back." His golden eyes were filled with a newfound determination, "But I'll do anything I can to get us all back home," he nodded toward Greed.

He remained silent for a while, studying Ed's determined gaze, before he shook his head, "For a kid, you got some balls," Ed grinned.

"Well? Let's make up our own strategy anew, call for Hughes and let's make a phone call to Hawkeye," Greed rose an eyebrow

"So, we are already taking out the big guns by informing Hawkeye too huh?" he smirked, walking away to do as he was told.

Ed sighed, going over the strategy in his head, " _We need more independent bases to form a circle around Central. Buccaneer will watch over the South, General Grumman the North, Hawkeye will be in Central...there's only East and West...Alex could go to East."_ Ed bit his lip, " _Is it a good idea to split up the Armstrong siblings? They're more powerful when they're together...Should I go toward the East or West?"_ hope briefly filled his heart, but he quickly pushed it down, " _No, I have to stay here, keep a watch on everyone. Yeah...I need to stay and make sure everyone gets out alive, I can't leave Al."_

He looked at _that_ gloved hand, an unreadable expression on his face as he closed his hand into a fist and heard the slight squeaking and working of the hydraulics inside. He sighed before greeting his team and explaining the plan.

* * *

Lena drove in the direction to Winry's shop, glancing at the photo of a smirking Greed next to the gearshift she had stored. She shook her head and smiled, smirking slightly when she imagined her dear boyfriend driving everyone at the base up the walls.

Her eyes were focused on the shop that was coming into view, waiting with a irritated sigh at a chance to finally cross the road and enter the parking space before Winry's shop. She tapped her fingers rhythmically against the leathery surface of the steering wheel, glaring at each and every one of the speeding cars that whipped past her. After what seemed like forever to her, a kind driver finally stopped to let her drive past. Lena gratefully saluted at the driver and quickly zipped past, finally entering the small parking space and with no small amount of smugness, drifted the car into a strong drift straight into a available parking space, perfectly might she add.

She grinned, tapping the steering wheel and turning off the engine, taking her phone, keys and purse with her out.

Winry was already standing there, right outside of her garage, shaking her head. Lena grinned innocently as she approached her friend, "What?"

Winry scoffed playfully, "You drive like a car racer," her eyes pointedly looked at her parked car, referring to the unnecessary strong drift she had created with the right momentum and a experienced tug to the steering wheel.

Lena shrugged, "You know I like car races," she beamed innocently.

Winry rolled her eyes, "Watching movies with car races isn't the same thing like driving in a car race," Lena pointedly ignored the remark and whistled when she saw two cars stationary in the garage, as well as what appeared to be a automail arm prosthesis idly resting on a workbench.

"I see you've got your hands full," Lena leaned against what she deemed to be a safe place, against a workbench which didn't have sharp looking tools that might kill her if she moved standing around. Winry sighed heavily.

"You can say that again, I've been busy all morning and an hour ago I've gotten two new customers saying they needed their cars fixed," she threw the semi dirty rag into a corner, undoing her green bandanna from her head.

Lena motioned toward the still unfinished automail arm, "And what's this?" she poked it lightly, "Who's arm did you broke and why?" she grinned wickedly at the blonde mechanic, who huffed in annoyance.

"You _know_ I did _not_ break Robert's arm that time! It had only been in a cast for a week or two!" she released a large, drawn out sigh at her friend's mischievous smile before her attention shifted to her little project, "It's a unfinished project you could say, Granny's been helping me in the medical field and I've made a few blueprints for it,"

Lena rose an eyebrow, "You won't show it off at the competition?" she titled her head, blinking in confusion.

Winry smiled, "No... the competition is in a few weeks and I don't think I will compete this time. I can't afford to travel that far anyway," she crossed her arms.

Lena's face turned sympathetic, "Ugh, how many times did I tell you already?! You have _friends_ miss mechanic! We _work_ too and get paid! We can lend you some money no problem!" Lena grinned reassuringly but Winry firmly shook her head.

"Oh no! No lending money! You know how I go about this!" she glared at her friend, who crossed her arms and pouted like a displeased child.

"You can be so stubborn..." Lena stuck her tongue out at her childishly and Winry laughed.

"Are you sure _you're_ supposed to be saying that?" she lifted a fair eyebrow up in amusement, laughing at Lena's displeased face.

"Anyway, what's brought your visit on? You usually still have training classes at this time," Winry glanced at the clock then back at Lena.

The brunette scratched her neck bashfully, "Uh, I just decided to take some time off. You know, vent...get some more sleep to remove these eye bags that reach the floor...the usual," Lena giggled.

Winry seemed suspicious of something, but whatever it was she thankfully let it slide and instead asked another question, "Alright...Riza just called me a few minutes ago, she said she will finally bring me Ed's letter!" Winry smiled brightly, unaware of the knowing, smug look on her friend's face.

"Oh really? So, soldier boy wrote you huh?" Lena smirked, crossing her arms.

Winry chose to ignore the mild embarrassment creeping up on her, "Uh, y-yeah he did. Though he needed a bit longer than usual, I sure hope everything was fine back there," a certain looked passed Lena's face but it was as quickly gone as it came.

"Don't worry, everything's fine," she nodded, both to reassure herself and Winry. Winry looked at her for a moment but smiled back, nodding.

"...You up for food?" Winry quirked an eyebrow, "I've got a fridge..."

Lena wrapped an arm around the woman, grinning and squealing like a girl, "Aw you know exactly how to brighten the mood! I love you! I'll leave Greed for you!" Lena laughed and started dragging the poor woman alongside her.

Winry sighed, shaking her head in exasperation, "You said you would leave Greed for food... _multiple times_...I think he knows by know how much of a glutton you are,"

Lena frowned playfully, "I'm not a glutton! It's called common sense!" she huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, come on you bottomless pit," Lena stuck her tongue out at her.

* * *

Clad in full regalia Bradley tapped his fingers against the soft texture of his sofa, counting down the hours, the minutes, the seconds...

"Oh this won't do!" he was pulled out of his thoughts by a all too familiar voice and he looked up to look at the formidable sight before him.

"Pardon me my dear?" his eye comically widened.

Mrs. Bradley huffed, "You've been home for no more than an hour and here you are sitting and brooding! We can't have that now can we? At least try to relax once you're at home dearest," she sighed and kissed her husband's forehead, who looked at her in mild surprise.

It wasn't often she snapped at him like that, in their younger days, this would be a common occurrence, just because both used to have a short temper, but nowadays as they've grown older and more knowledgeable, such feats seemed unnecessary...well, at least he thought that.

With rapt attention, he owlishly watched as she set a metal tray full of food, a cup of tea and...

He rose an eyebrow, "Chess?" he looked at the age old board game, looking at his smiling wife.

"Well, since you said you didn't have any urgent matters to attend to for the afternoon, I thought a quick warm meal and a mentally challenging game will surely bring you in a better mood," she smiled gently.

Bradley straightened up in his seat, for the first time actually noticing how hungry he was, he hadn't eaten anything since the early morning hours and now it was already a quarter to three. He contemplated the notion of finally relaxing with his wife at home and surrendered, "...I suppose it couldn't hurt," he smiled warmly at the smile that seemed to brighten more at his statement.

He rose an eyebrow before reaching for the fork and knife, "You won't be eating with me?" he looked quizzically at his wife.

She smiled bashfully, her eyes apologetic, "I'm sorry my dear but Selim and I have already eaten dinner," Bradley sighed and nodded. Well, it wasn't exactly a surprising occurrence. Quite contrary actually, he would rarely ever eat _with_ his family because he simply didn't have the time to.

"It's alright, don't worry about it," Bradley reached across the table and grasped her hand, gently running his calloused thumb over the expense of her smooth skin.

She blushed and laughed, "Even after so many years, you can still make me bashful by just being so caring,"

Bradley chuckled and shook his head, "And I do my best at being caring," she giggled and he finally let himself have his warm meal, his wife watching with a fond look.

"...Do you still remember how we met?" she suddenly asked after her husband had finished with the main course and had the pudding in his hands as dessert.

The visible eye not hidden by the eye patch shot to her and twinkled in amusement and a hint of smugness, "How could I forget..."

He grinned, "...the day you have nearly slapped me senseless," boisterous laughter escaped him and his wife laughed as well.

"Well...I hadn't meant to specifically recall _that_ part," she smiled despite herself.

"Oh but what could you possibly mean? That had been the first part after all, even before a polite 'hello'," her husband smiled.

"Actually, I've meant the moment I've seen the real you...how soft spoken and caring you were beneath your façade of a ruthless, trained soldier," she met his steady gaze, "I've known there was more to you than meets the eye, you were quite the impulsive, short tempered young man when I met you but I suppose I hadn't been much better then," she giggled, placing a hand bashfully against her mouth.

Bradley smiled, holding his warm tea in his hands, "You were quite free spirited, you hadn't but a care for my harsh approach, in fact you've met it with your own comebacks, which had been quite amusing to experience," he chuckled, "You were the single woman who hadn't been intimidated by my upbringing and appearance, rather you've been exasperated with my short fuse if I remember correctly," he smirked.

She shook her head, her eyes warm and kind, "Ah, yes and you still seem to posses some of it to this day." The surprise that quickly flickered in his gaze made her giggle, "Don't think you can hide things from me, we've known each-other for too long for that to happen. I can tell when you're angered or troubled every time, no matter how well you try to conceal it. After all, I've chosen you to spend the rest of my days with," the smile she bestowed upon him made him love this woman all the more.

Bradley smirked, "That you did..."

" _And you..._ " his hard gaze softened at her smile, _"...were the only thing I freely chose,"_ his closed his eye and sipped from his tea, the warm liquid filling his mouth and leaving a faint smell of cinnamon and mint in his mouth.

His afternoon had been a enjoyable one, spent with his wife, a cup of tea and a game of chess he knew he was going to lose.

 **Phew...done! :) Any complains? Wishes? Good? Bad? Let me hear it! ;) Gracia will be introduced in the next chapter!**


	9. The Devil within our ranks

**Back again!** Sooner than I expected! Here's the next chapter for you!

 **INFO ON CHAPTER:** Bradley's position, function and the rumors centering around him within the State Military, first mentioning's of Selim too!

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Pfeh:** (blush) Aw thank you! I aim to please! ;)

 **Lily:** (sweat drop) Sorry Lil', Gracia will come in the next chapter! Since I thought she wouldn't really fit into the scene right now, especially with the ending this chapter took! O.o

 **Curligurl0896:** Thanks so much! :3 Hope you enjoyed this one too and that I didn't disappoint!

 **Penguin20:** Thanks girl! ;)

 **AuthorBugsy:** T_T (cries happy tears) Ohh thank you SO MUCH! :33 It makes me really happy and motivated to know my readers enjoy my stories! Really, thank you for your review it motivated me to write the next chapter! :) I'm glad the story isn't a drop (yet) ^^"

* * *

 **The Devil within our ranks**

Riza's grip on the phone tightened, her gaze sharp and her voice serious and commanding, "Are you sure?"

 _"_ _We received a telegram yesterday that General Armstrong has gotten injured on the battlefield. Drachma may have deployed more troops to Fort Briggs than we have originally anticipated after their last ambush at our main and secondary base,"_ Roy's voice traveled through the phone into Riza's ear, filing the information for later.

"How injured is she?" it was difficult for her to believe a woman of her caliber to allow to call for medical assistance and be injured so severely.

" _...The telegram hadn't specified the extent of her condition, but if she would sent out a telegram it must be severe,"_ Roy's voice was serious underlined with barely concealed fury, Riza understood. She always did.

"Understood, sir. Should we send for reinforcements?" Riza had a hunch the troops at the secondary base were all assembled however Roy must have sent Kimblee or Miles out to help at Fort Briggs, that left the secondary base occupied by Mustang's Unit alone.

There was a brief pause where Mustang quickly made up various scenarios, like Drachma executing a surprise attack again in a few days or the situation at Fort Briggs being a lot more severe than they have anticipated, he made his decision when he answered, " _I'd need two units, just in case. I've sent you a list of casualties and the current situation. I've sent Kimblee and Ling for Fort Briggs, my team stays here at the secondary base while I'll head over to the main base and see what Edward has gotten planned,"_

Riza nodded to herself, absorbing the information, "How is he fairing?" she referred to Ed, after the mechanic and the doctor that had taken a look at him a few weeks ago, he had been deemed fit enough to join the battlefront after a few more days of bed rest. He should be in good condition now.

" _Hm, ever the little annoying brat I've come closer to strangling each and every day. He seems physically fit, however..."_ Riza sensed Roy paused for dramatic effect and she sighed, "Colonel..."

 _"_ _Ah, ah, ahhh! It's_ _ **General**_ _now Lieutenant!"_ Roy's teasing and confident voice brought a smirk to Riza's lips.

"And it's Lieutenant **General** to _you_ , _sir_ ," Riza couldn't help but smile and shake her head, in the privacy within her office walls and pulled down blinds.

Roy seemed amused, his chuckle proof of that, before he answered her concern, " _At times, he seems distracted and I think I know who the culprit is,"_ there was a long silence stretched between them before Riza smirked.

"I have the letter he had written to Winry-"

" _Perfect! Come on Lieutenant give me some blackmail material!"_ Roy's overly excited voice forced a unprofessional, light laugh from Riza, who shook her head at her husband's antics.

"Roy...don't you have work?" she tilted her head, unbeknownst to him eyeing the now cleared stack of paperwork thanks to her meticulous and thorough working at late hours in the office. She reluctantly relented at his drawn out whine, reminding her of Black Hayate when he would be begging for more food.

"One word," she warned playfully, " _Sexy_ ," she could already _hear_ the gears shifting in her husband's head, various forms of inappropriate thoughts invading his mind as to what little, inexperienced, loudmouth Fullmetal could have possibly written that needed _that_ particular word.

" _Excuse me? I think the line has an error, for a minute I've thought you said-"_

"Sexy," Riza repeated with no small amount of amusement.

Roy exploded, " _WHAT?! I'LL BURN THAT BOY ALIVE WITH BLACKMAIL MATERIAL! JUST HOW FAR ALONG ARE THOSE TWO WITH THAT PARCEL RELATIONSHIP?!"_ to Riza, it seemed like he was shouting and pacing at the same time, a large, terrifying grin stretching his face, " _It seems like my day has just brightened for that little information! Oh and of course for hearing your lovely voice,"_ Riza rolled her eyes at the lame attempt at flirting from her ever sly husband.

"Of course sir," she sighed in mild exasperation, "Just be sure to keep an eye on things, I'll send for reinforcements and make sure everything is dealt with on our side,"

" _Good. There's one more thing though,"_ Riza perked up at the suddenly different atmosphere, sensing what Roy was about to tell her to be important.

"Yes?" all amusement fled from her voice and being the minute she heard Roy's tone shift from playful to serious in a matter of seconds.

" _...Fullmetal updated me on the enemy's attacking pattern. It seems like all their attacks until now circle around Central,"_ Riza quickly grabbed a pen and paper, drawing Central in the middle of the paper with a square symbol and the attacks from Drachma as little black dots, creating a circle around the square piece.

"What could they possibly gain by attacking us directly? They should be aware that the military's strength is highest at Central, it would have made more sense for them to attack the East or West," Riza couldn't help but feel highly suspicious.

She didn't hold them for a fool, not one bit. Drachma's military might was every bit as powerful as their own was, their leader a calculating man gifted in the arts of war. Drachma's economy however has experienced a large boost, which meant imports with weapons as their cargo, export statistics have grown as well. Riza frowned in concern.

" _I don't know, but be sure to meet up with the Madam, perhaps she can give you some intel on the matter,"_ of course, if anyone would know anything of this nature, it would be her.

"Understood, sir," Riza paused before quickly bringing the phone back to her ear, "Sir!"

" _Yes?"_ Roy seemed surprised to sense the sudden, uncharacteristic urgency in Riza's voice.

"...Be careful," her voice was soft as she spoke, conveying some of her feelings she usually avoided as best as she could showing during work hours.

Roy didn't even need a second to answer, " _Only if you will be,"_ Riza smiled, shaking her head at his stubborn attitude.

"If it means keeping you out of trouble, then of course," she could almost hear the smile in his voice.

" _Understood...Riza,"_ he didn't often use her name while using the military's line services but this time, she was glad he did.

Riza smiled and hung up, her gaze shifted to the drawing she had made of the current attack positions of Drachma and the position of Central in the middle.

" _What could they possibly be hoping to achieve?"_ she bit her lip, her hand reaching for her phone to search out the one contact she needed to talk to privately as soon as possible.

" _Hello?"_ came a gruff, female voice.

"Madame Christmas? It's-" she was interrupted by the woman herself.

" _Aye, I know who you are Mrs. Mustang. I was there at your wedding remember?"_ there was amusement present in her voice, before she turned serious, " _Anyway, what's the occasion? Last time you called, Roy has gotten into a bit of trouble, what has he done now?"_ Riza couldn't help but be amused by the relationship between her husband and the woman, his aunt, that has adopted him when his parents died and raised him.

"It's not directly about Roy this time, he is fine. But do you have time around noon?" she sincerely hoped she did.

" _Meet me at the bar after your work hours. I've got something to share with you too,"_ Riza's brow arched in surprise.

"Have you? What kind of information is it?" she was eager to know, fearing it would be something connected to Drachma.

" _I know about your safe communication lines of the State Military, but not even they can be trusted. We'll discuss everything at the bar,"_ the call ended and Riza was left to wonder what she could possibly mean.

* * *

 _"_ _Hi Winry,_

 _Hawkeye? Nice? Yeah she is, well if she isn't in a bad mood or holding a gun to your head but yeah, she's nice._

 _Anyway, how comes you wrote me so late? Did you have to work so late? Even I'm sleeping at that time, well mostly anyway. So, how are you doing? I actually wanted to write sooner, but I got a bit injured when we ran into Drachma so I had to lay down and rest, nothing serious though."_

Winry giggled, shaking her head at the comment about Riza, glad the woman herself didn't read it to get offended by it. But then she read the last sentence again, double checking to make sure she didn't misread it.

To her mortification, her suspicions were confirmed. Ed _had_ gotten injured! Worry filled her at the thought, while she didn't know him that well, she did feel concerned for him, after all he was a good friend of her circle of friends and she had found out he may not be such a bad guy through the letters.

Biting her bottom lip, she continued on reading.

 _"_ _Right, so, you said you knew Mei? Of course I know her, the little bubbly pipsqueak full of energy, how can I not know her? I met her once, when she went to see Al off before we departed for Drachma but that's all. You like...my eyes? Uh, thanks. Yeah, I have the same gold eyes like Alphonse. What? So you like my eyes huh? I admit, I'm damn sexy with my eyes, you know gold eyes and all, attracts the ladies! ;) By the way, what eye color do you have?"_

 _WHAT?!_ Mei never told her she met him _personally_! That little-!

"I can't believe it!" Den barked at his owner's sudden, distressed outburst, tail swinging wildly in alarm and ears perked up at attention. Winry sighed, rubbing her forehead.

She felt heat flooding her cheeks, then she snorted, "Sexy? Yeah, right," she rolled her eyes, men. Hm...was he some type of womanizer like Mustang had been? A disturbing feeling brewed up inside her at the horrifying thought, an image of a gold eyed, gold haired man with a wicked, perverted glint in his eyes chasing after miniskirts appeared in her mind's eye and she shivered in apprehension. Oh god... _please_ don't let him be like _Mustang_ of all people!

Then again...he _was_ his superior...

 _"_ _Oh, what soldiers do, yeah we do something like that. Before every battle we prepare ourselves what may expect us there and gather everyone fighting up, to go over the rules again and all. I'm leading the team when Mustang's absent or dealing with other stuff so I coordinate the groups and we make a plan on where the enemy is and where the "safe zones" are for us to move around without being in immediate danger. Al is the head medic and always comes along in case we have injured, he jokes that I guard him like a watchdog when we're out on the battlefield."_

A fair eyebrow rose up in curiosity, Winry tilted her head, eyes alight with the thirst to know more about how the situation was like there for him. Yeah, she heard about Alphonse being a medic there but she never heard he had a brother that was also in the military and fighting on the front lines too.

Was he aggressive? Violent? Could it be he enrolled in the military for the thrill of it? She had a hunch sweet Alphonse wouldn't just join the military like that, so it must have been because of Edward. But why did he enroll in the first place? She continued on reading, questions filling her mind.

 _"_ _There is something you should know, I'm not actually the rank of a captain. My men call me captain or Fullmetal but I'm not really a captain by rank. By official rank, I'm Lieutenant General and Mustang is above me, he is a General. As for the guys in my team...well, there is my brother Alphonse, who is the head medic there. There are the two brothers, Ling and Greed. Ling is a little weird and a bit hit in the head but he's a nice and funny guy, he's good with bombs and grenades oh and he has cool ninja moves ;). Greed is his twin, but he looks more...dangerous? Insane? Something like that. Ling is a cinnamon roll but Greed is the opposite, let's say it like that. Greed's a rank below me, Major General, and he's really greedy, pun intended. I think you know his girlfriend, Lena right? If you know Mei and Hawkeye, Lan Fan too I think, then you gotta know Lena. Sometimes I seriously wonder how such a nice woman got to be stuck with such an ass."_

There was a moment of silence before she burst out laughing, clutching at her stomach to miserably try and fail to quench her laughter and giggles.

Winry smiled, resting her chin against her palm. Hmm...so he wondered how Lena could be stuck with "such an ass" like Greed? Faintly, she wondered how good friends Lena and Ed were and why she never mentioned anything to her. She shook her head, maybe she was just reading too much into this.

Winry had met Greed and Ling of course, but they hadn't hung out much. Greed had creeped her out a bit, maybe it had been his intimidating aura he had about himself, maybe it had been the flash of sharper-looking-than-normal teeth when he grinned toothily, maybe it had been the way his strange violet eyes had flashed when Lena had gotten hit on by some drunk once at the local bar where they all had a drink.

She remembered Ling being a jokester and an odd one too, for one, he rarely ever used doors to enter people's houses. She remembered one time where the girls slept over at her place and Ling had scared the crap out of all of them when he had literally fallen into her house through the window! What had unnerved her even more was that Greed had climbed in after him too, muttering things about pesky "piss ants" and "weird door phobia".

 _"_ _Anyway, there is Mustang's Unit too but they are directly under his control, not mine so yeah. It's the same unit Hawkeye was a part of, with Fuery, Breda, Havoc and Falman. Not to mention Kimblee, but he keeps more to himself, he's a well known seasoned veteran. He's especially skilled with explosives, not to mention, rumors say he was forced into a mental institution because he "loved hearing things explode". Only met him a handful of times, but I wouldn't cross him if you want to stay alive."_

Winry shivered, ah... _Kimblee_. She had met him once, before he had been sent to the border a few years back. It had been when she had visited Riza to see how she was coping with Roy being sent to war without her for the first time there and she had met the terrifying man.

At first, he had seemed like the perfect gentleman. His appearance was well-groomed and sharp, but his eyes were what had caused her to be cautious of him. Those cold, icy blue eyes. His words were eloquent and soft spoken, yet she highly doubted that was all he was capable of. Call her crazy, but she had a feeling like he was dangerous or at least, bad enough to not be near him when he was angered.

The rumors she had heard about him had only fueled her wild imagination to create the most ridiculous of fantasies picturing Kimblee laughing maniacally as he slaughtered hundreds of soldiers and made them explode, with blood smeared on his face and a crazed look in his eyes.

Little did she know her fantasies were closer to reality than she initially thought, with Edward's words confirming her fears.

 _"_ _You mentioned gossip? And Robert Windmill? Oh come on, that guy's been getting on my nerves since I finished elementary! Yeah, I'm not surprised someone finally knocked some sense into him and I'm glad it was literally with a wrench too! Thanks for doing that, you should get a medal for it! I'm sure if Al would be a girl he would hit on him too! Tch, stupid ass. I'm glad he finally got what he deserved though."_

Winry shook her head and giggled, thinking of, in a bizarre way, Robert probably _would_ hit on him if Alphonse were a girl. It seemed, to no great surprise, that Edward wasn't fond of Robert _at all._

 _"_ _I'll keep safe don't worry, but you do too alright? Tell me how's it going on your side? How's your job and how are the girls doing? Be sure to greet them from me alright? BTW: Salute to Hawkeye or she will send my balls back to me by mail if I don't salute her, even through letters. Reading you soon!_

 _-Edward 'Fullmetal' Elric_

She smiled softly and grabbed a pen and a fresh piece of paper and began writing her reply.

* * *

The tall figure clad in uniform strolled through the crowded halls of the State Military building, the moment onlookers had noticed his presence, the previously crowded hallway had parted like a sea before him, granting him undisturbed access to wherever he wished to go.

He observed the terrified expressions and reactions with amusement, hidden intentions perfectly obscured by a façade of overwhelming kindness and joy on his face.

Whispers and hushed conversations died down at the seemingly happy aura about their superior, all whom he passed had respectfully saluted and greeted him and he returned it with a greeting and nod of approval of his own.

The moment he had approached his office and had closed and locked the door behind him, his visible eye flashed dangerously, the malice and deep fury that had been previously hidden from sight finally rearing its ugly head.

Bradley observed the map he had pinned to the wall, eyes zeroing in on the position of Central.

He approached the large map, tracing invisible patterns with his eyes, where he had heard Drachma had attacked his troops.

"They think they can usurp me is it..." he whispered, his regular cheery tone melting into a low, dangerous rumble unheard of by many, all but the most unfortunate ones that had at one point or another suffered his wrath.

But even then, in those moments of supposed "fury" he had been in control. He was _always_ in control. If not, there would be no telling what would of happened by now.

"Judging by their advantage in numbers, they just may," a new yet familiar voice brought Bradley out of his thoughts, his visible eye widening in slight surprise.

Had he been so deep in thought to not notice the powerful presence in the room with him?

When he turned to regard the new speaker, he had faced the corner laced with complete darkness and when he looked at it a little longer, already knowing the secret the darkness withheld from him, did pearly white teeth and purple eyes appear.

"Hello, father," sharp-looking teeth flashed into a malicious grin as his son stepped forth from the shadows.

 **Well, that's all for now!** Please tell me if/how you liked it! Anything to change or maybe include?


	10. Intel on the Enemy

**ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Lily:** You're welcome :)

 **Curligurl0896:** Ah, sorry about the lack of EdWin fluffiness! I promise though that that will definitely come in later chapters! ;) Thank you for pointing out my mistake, I sometimes write so fast and forget to proof read (my biggest enemy .) that I completely miss such things! Seriously thank you! :) The situation with the military is certainly getting more difficult the more we find out! ;)

 **Pouda-P:** haha thanks Pouda-P! :D Don't worry now that I've gotten a bit of the military stuff outta the way, I'll write another chapter focusing on Winry and all the others!

 **Panic:** Oh an office job huh? Ugh, I know that feeling, I remember having to work an internship off at an office and it had been strenuous to say the least. But good luck with it! :) Thank you very much :) I thought I may have overdone it with demonizing Olivier ^^ Ahh, what better way to bond siblings than in war (just kidding) I wanted to save those situations for the next chapters when the confrontation with Olivier comes up! ...I'm starting to get scared about that mind link ya know...I actually wrote down most of the Homunculi's positions already and I had Lust as a intelligence officer already (a highly skilled one of course). ;)

* * *

 **Intel on the Enemy**

A smirk grew on Bradley's face and the shadows disappeared, "What brings you here Selim?" he was smiling.

Selim Bradley smiled innocently, the previous image of menacing sharp teeth cloaked in shadows seemed a fleeting illusion now, "I wanted to visit you daddy!" he ran up to his father and hugged him just as a knock sounded on the door.

Bradley's visible eye flashed in realization before he unlocked and opened the door only to reveal Lieutenant General Mustang.

She was holding files in her hands and when she saluted to him she noticed the young boy clinging to his father happily, her eyebrows rose in surprise at seeing the little boy here. Had Bradley brought him to work? It seemed highly unlikely, since as far as she knew, he often tried keeping business and pleasure separate.

"Apologies sir, shall I return-" she was about to apologize, until Selim broke apart from his father and took Riza's hand.

"Please stay! You're the nice lady that works for dad right?" Riza nodded, smiling down at the child.

Bradley looked at the folders in her hands, "Is there anything that requires my attention Lieutenant General Mustang?" he narrowed his eye at the files.

Riza turned her head to him, "Yes, sir," without a word, she handed him the files and the first thing that filled his vision was white.

A blank sheet.

Bradley looked quizzically at Riza, but the woman just fixed him with a look.

He turned his attention back to the paper, this time looking thoroughly. He spotted something in the bottom left corner.

 _Delta._

His eyes moved to the bottom right corner.

 _Romeo._

Top right.

 _Alpha._

Top left.

 _Charlie._

Middle.

 _Hotel._

Forty degrees to the right.

 _Mike._

Forty deegres to the left.

 _Alpha._

His eyes narrowed, " _Drachma?_ " his gaze lifted again to regard Riza, "Have there been any news?" she knew he had seen the pattern.

It must have been something important and secret if Riza went through the trouble of encoding her message to him. What had Drachma done now?

She motioned her head toward the paper and Bradley looked at it again. He turned it around and on the back of it, there stood a single word in the middle of the pure white.

 _COMING._

Rage began to grow inside of him, Drachma was coming. To Central? Of course, Riza knew the formations of the attack, Mustang was the first to report to her. So she had confirmed his suspicions.

Selim suddenly grabbed onto his shaking arm, "Miss!" he called over to Riza, who momentarily tore her gaze from her superior and leaned down to look at his son.

"Yes Selim?" she smiled kindly.

"Do you mind if daddy and I are alone now? Daddy wanted to show me some cool stuff he has here!" Riza blinked in surprise and Bradley grabbed his son's hand.

"My apologies, Lieutenant General Mustang. It seems my son is impatient to snoop around," Bradley's seemingly bright smile hid a plethora of suppressed rage.

Riza just shook her head and smiled, "It's quite alright General. I hope you understood my message," Bradley nodded curtly before he dismissed her and once again, closed and locked the door.

He let go of his son's hand after giving a warning squeeze, "That may have just gotten us into trouble, Selim. Watch your actions carefully next time," he sent his son a stern look.

Selim smiled innocently, "But father, you promised to show me some of your military things here right?" he tilted his head in child-like curiosity.

"I suppose," Bradley moved to sit at his desk.

"...What did she write on that paper?" Selim suddenly asked, his gaze uncharacteristically serious.

Bradley smirked, a dangerous glint in his eye, "Something very interesting Selim, but nothing we already didn't anticipate," Selim nodded.

Bradley slammed a black pin over the map, right over the location where Drachma was.

The black pin symbolized annihilation or a destroyed territory.

* * *

Greed sighed heavily, blowing a wayward piece of his hair out of his sharp eyes, "Alright, remind me again why I'm tagging along with you lot?" he rolled his eyes when Ling slammed into his side overenthusiastically and wrapped an arm around him.

"Because! Ed said it would be wise for you to tag along and besides, Armstrong is injured, which means she will need all the help she can get!" Ling grinned, fist bumping the air happily.

Greed grit his teeth, it was kind of hard to believe they were in the middle of a war zone with this guy being so cheery and happy-go-lucky as it was.

His gaze fixated itself on the other soldier's back.

Well, he couldn't say the same about Kimblee. Maybe Ed had wanted to punish him for his sly comments earlier or something, but he _knew_ that him and Kimblee weren't exactly diaper buddies.

"So, you know the coordinates bomber?" Greed didn't bother uttering Kimblee's name, like for nearly everyone that got on his nerves, which _was_ everyone, he had come up with a nickname.

Ed was runt or on especially dark days, beansprout. He used to be short, sadly he was nearly the same height as Greed now, but Greed still used the nickname to occasionally rile him up. Alphonse was cinnamon roll, since he was so innocent and a goodie two shoes. Ling was piss ant, because he was Ling. Mustang was sparks or ' Captain Useless' as he liked to call him on rainy days. Armstrong, Alex not that scary-ass sister of his, was bald sparkly idiot or sparkly idiot for short. His sister was ice queen.

Ah, right. He shouldn't forget his girlfriend's awesome nickname, princess badass.

Greed grinned, his thoughts making a detour to think of her. The way she sometimes covered her face when she laughed because she was embarrassed to show people her teeth, even though nothing at all was wrong with them. The way she would be so modest in comparison to some other women that flaunted all their stuff. The way she would scream at him because he either forgot to buy the milk or eggs and he would need to go out and get them again. Or the way when she would write the grocery list she would include in brackets ' _don't forget'_ or _'Yes, we will eat that_ '.

"I see someone's thinking of their girlfriend again~~" Ling drawled out the last word, leaning in close to Greed and cackling loudly when Greed's irritation visibly grew but before he could say anything, Kimblee started chuckling.

Greed's head snapped to the mad bomber, "And what's so funny huh?" he glared daggers at his back.

Kimblee shook his head, his blue eyes meeting Greed's burning violets, "Oh nothing much. I've met the entertaining young lady before," the smirk on his face caused Greed to feel a spark of anger.

"Oh really? Where?" he challenged, feeling his fists shaking.

Kimblee was the epitome of calmness, "If I recall correctly, that was on the day where she visited the General's wife, it was the same day where I had gotten deployed here. She was quite entertaining to observe, her jokes were a pleasure to hear as well but not as pleasurable as my explosions," with every sentence uttered from Kimblee's mouth, Greed's nerves were thinner and thinner until they threatened to snap.

Greed scoffed, irritated. Ling looked between the two men, one completely unfazed and the other steaming with irritation. He sighed, "Oh brother..."

" _What_?!" Greed barked at him, if he would be a dog, he would be trying to bite Ling's head off.

Ling shook his head, "You get jealous so easily..." he deadpanned.

Greed crossed his arms, "It's not jealousy. It's called protectiveness," Ling rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say," the Xingese soldier let his gaze roam across the increasingly cold and bare terrain. They were nearing Fort Briggs it seemed.

Kimblee suddenly slowed, "Slow down, we don't know how the situation looks like exactly so there may be enemy soldiers hiding somewhere nearby," he rested a hand on the rifle slung across his chest, the other was placed securely on one of his many bombs strapped to his hips.

Greed eyed the bomb suspiciously, "I sure hope you know where you're throwing this thing," Greed reading his weapons too, two semi-automatic machine guns. He was armed to the tooth.

Ed had warned him about possible ambushes along the way and since he had the ever present worry child tagging along, he decided to arm himself as best as humanly possible.

Two semi-automatic machine guns were in each of his hands, three smoke bombs and three explosive bombs were strapped on his belt, ammunition belts were slung across his chest and another was loosely hanging off one side of his hip and down his thigh. He had two military knives secured at his thighs, back legs and he had two hidden blades within his soles, he just had to press a button at the back of his boots and they would nicely come out.

Oh yeah, technology was sweet.

Additionally, he had two dual pistols strapped to his back, another berretta M9 caliber 9mm secured at his hip. Though Greed's style relied more on speed, strength and close combat, he often resulted in using firearms as long distance alternative fighting once he got close enough to his enemies to kick their asses.

He looked over at his brother and smirked, Ling hadn't come with lightweight either. A bazooka was strapped on his back, if he didn't know his brother's strength, he would have thought that poor sod couldn't have carried it. He was naturally thin, but that didn't mean he was weak, oh no. Ling was proficient in using bombs and a combination of firearms and close combat techniques, primarily from their homeland Xing. Greed himself knew how to fight in Xingese combat methods, but that wasn't quite his style so he opted to only use it when he was weaponless.

Kimblee however, was full of his explosives and bombs and whatnot. Most of the explosives he carried on himself were personally created by him, added with a "blast" as he usually said it with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

Greed wasn't afraid of Kimblee, but the guy was seriously nuts if it brought him pleasure in hearing things explode.

The group crouched down low, ears and eye open and alert at their surroundings, ignoring the chill invading their bodies.

Greed had been at first against Kimblee leading their group to Fort Briggs, but he knew the route far better than Greed did and knew a few shortcuts and loopholes, having been to Fort Briggs far often than Greed or Ling.

His proficiency in explosives was a nice bonus in arctic terrain such as this, so Greed could understand why Mustang often sent Kimblee out to help should they require reinforcements.

However...

"Doesn't this whole situation smell funny to you?" Greed quietly asked, eyes staying alert on the white land.

"How so?" Kimblee inquired back.

"That Ice Queen can't possibly be injured and hell even if she was, just how strong are these guys at Drachma anyway? Our military exceeds theirs in firepower and experience," Ling couldn't help but agreed with his brother's reasoning.

Kimblee frowned, "I agree, however keep in mind that Drachma surpasses us in numbers and numbers are a dangerous thing. You can have two of the most powerful soldiers on your side facing a whole battalion of weaker soldiers. The party with the mass army of soldiers wins because after some time their sheer numbers overwhelm even the most powerful," Greed didn't like to admit it, but what Kimblee was blabbering on about made sense.

Ling frowned and Greed noticed the uncharacteristic notion, "What's wrong?" he rose an eyebrow suspiciously.

Usually when his brother was serious that was never a good thing, Ling slowly looked at Greed, his face contemplative, "I wonder...we know Armstrong would rather take her right arm than send out a telegram warranting help...what if Drachma somehow got their hands on our communication lines and sent a telegram in their name?" Kimblee stopped advancing forward and turned to regard Ling.

"Highly unlikely I believe...they would need to get through Armstrong's line of defense to do so and that is even more unlikely than her being injured," Kimblee rubbed his chin but lifted his gaze to regard the two brothers, "However, you aren't wrong. I've thought of this too, if the reason they had sent out the telegram was another,"

Greed rose an eyebrow, arms crossed over his chest, "You mean she isn't really injured?"

Kimblee nodded mutely in agreement.

Ling frowned in confusion, "But why couldn't she just write what the real matter was? Maybe she really is injured and it's so severe she had no time to be discreet?" Kimblee's gaze darkened.

"Whatever the case may be, we need to keep moving. We are just short of the Fort now," he nodded to the two brothers before turning his back and moving forward, crouching down low again.

Greed and Ling looked at each-other before following suit.

* * *

Riza looked behind herself before she slowly entered into the shady bar, the dim, red and orange lights illuminating the whole place in a dark setting, where one associates the red light district.

Riza spotted the familiar, burly woman behind the counter, nursing a drink before seeing her and waving her over. She wasted no time and strode as casually as possible toward the bar.

The elderly woman waved a hand nonchalantly, "You can relax here, just me and my girls are here and nobody else," Riza's shoulders dropped slightly in a sign of relaxation at the revelation and she smiled tiredly.

"It's good to see you after such a long time Madam," Riza nodded her head in respect.

The woman smirked, offering Riza a cold drink, "The pleasure is all mine Mrs. Mustang. Heh, I still can't believe Roy finally had the guts to ask you after all this time. One would think I hadn't raised a coward," she rolled her eyes but Riza knew she meant well and giggled.

"Well, he is alright on most days I suppose," she smiled kindly.

Madam Christmas turned serious again, "So, I don't suppose you've come to chat with me over good old times have you?" her gaze briefly flickered to the women she employed before returning to Riza.

The former sharpshooter's eyes held a tinge of worry in them as she deposited the files onto the counter top, Chris Mustang opened the folder and looked at its contents. She rose an eyebrow and clicked her tongue, "So, Central is it?" she scoffed.

"Figures," her voice was filled with disdain, a clear line of hatred for Drachma.

Riza frowned in confusion, "Excuse me?" Madam Christmas looked at Riza.

"Figures Drachma would attack Central first," at the confused look on her face, she elaborated, "Our might may be strongest in Central, but the Führer is also stationed here in Central. Anyone managing a successful attack on Central runs the opportunity to directly harm the Führer and that's a risk those bastards are obviously going to take, they have the numbers for it anyway,"

Riza frowned, safely tucking the files away, "You mean to tell me they will launch a direct attack on the Führer's life? That would be suicidal with how much security Central is equipped with," she still didn't understand the motive of Drachma's movements.

Madam Christmas clicked her tongue, putting her cigarette flat out, "It's not so much an attempt at the Führer's life itself as it is directly hitting the military where it really hurts, their moral. If the Führer were to even remotely shake under the imposing threat, our military may just as well," she fixed Riza with a stare, "Everyone knows a country can't be run by itself. Many have tried and many have failed. If a king crumbles under the combined strength of its enemy, the country falls with it,"

Madam Christmas leaned forward, her gaze sharp and wary, "Now, about the thing I wanted to talk to you about," she retrieved a small stack of papers from underneath the counter and placed them on the counter top in front of Riza to look at.

The blonde sharpshooter rose an eyebrow and lifted the files, curiosity taking the better of her and opening the first page, "What is this Madam?"

"A lead," she replied curtly and Riza looked at the portrait of a young woman with long dark, curly hair and piercing red eyes, "Codename: Lust, position: intelligence officer under direct command of King Bradley. She operates under nearly anything you can imagine falling under the description intelligence officer. She works as a field and operations officer as well as a highly skilled analyst and counterintelligence officer. Rumors say she is even a double agent working for Drachma, but she has been a loyal subordinate for Bradley for a long time," Riza's eyes widened, the papers in her hands shaking, "What? What's wrong? Know her?"

Riza swallowed the lump in her throat, "No but...why isn't she included in any reports? I haven't heard anything from her at all,"

Madam Christmas sighed, "There are many things kept well hidden even within your own force, I wouldn't put it to a powerful man such as Bradley to be hiding certain things for a high price." Her eyes moved down to the file, "She commands a large but unknown number of units and she only answers to Bradley. However, I've heard her siblings work there too, in the military,"

Riza rose an eyebrow, "Siblings?" the situation seemed to spike.

The elderly woman nodded, "Aye," her gaze narrowed, "I haven't gathered enough info yet, but rumors have it that they all serve under Bradley directly and only he knows they even exist,"

"But how...how is this possible? Bradley's movements were supposed to checked and transparent even if he is in command," she didn't understand anything now.

Madame Christmas snorted, "That so? I wouldn't be surprised if there's a very tragic story hiding behind that pretty face," a manicured finger nail pointed on the face of the officer codenamed "Lust".

 _Name: CLASSIFIED_

 _BIRTH: CLASSIFIED_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Codename: LUST_

 _Rank: Intelligence Officer, 1_ _st_ _DIVISION_

 _SUPERIOR: GA BRADLEY_

 _PLACE OF DEPLOYMENT: CLASSIFIED_

 _MISSIONS: CLASSIFIED_

 _CAPABILITES: CLASSIFIED_

 _FIELD OF EXPERTISE: CLASSIFIED_

Riza read through the given information but it wasn't much. Most of it was classified, but why?

"Who was she?" Riza muttered to herself, the face of "Lust" piercing her with those very same red eyes.

 **What could Bradley be planning? Is Olivier really injured? And what's up with Lust in this one? Stay tuned for the next chapters! :)**


	11. A New Enemy

Hello again! :) Alright, so after much thinking of where this chapter will go (I already have the core elements for the story planned out) I found myself in a bit of a dilemma concerning **Greed's connection to the rest of the Homunculi**. :/ **Originally** , they were supposed to be mere acquaintances but I've thought of another direction where it could go; Greed knowing them from years before where they created a "gang", with their codenames being the names of the seven deadly sins and they later lost contact after Greed decided to leave the party and met Lena.

 **Option 1:** Have Greed become interested in finding out more about them since they share his namesake (seven deadly sins) and confront them (though that would mean I would have to give Greed a "real" name since "Greed" would be a codename for him in this scenario).

 **Option 2:** Greed and the rest of the Homunculi had a gang beforehand, dubbing themselves as the seven deadly sins and causing some chaos. Greed had decided to leave them after meeting Lena and the others and being persuaded over by Ling of them being a bad influence. Greed recognizes them through an encounter in a mission.

 **So what do you think?** I know authors aren't supposed to lay their cards on the table, but I'm having trouble deciding this little detail and I would be immensely thankful if you could help guys! **Thanks! :3**

 **Enjoy!**

 **A New Enemy**

Den watched owlishly as his owner tore at her hair and stomped her feet on the ground wildly, he tilted his head to the side, not understanding if his owner was hurt or simply frustrated. He wagged his tail uneasily, cautiously approaching the woman.

He sniffed her side and bumped his nose against her hip, his ears pressed flat against his head in a sign of peace when she looked down at him, distress written all over her face. Her expression melted at Den's attempt to calm her and she gently petted his head, scratching behind his ear and under his chin, just the way he liked. Den barked happily and licked her hand in gratitude, relieved to see his owner was in good spirits.

Winry appreciated the sweet gesture of her dog but unfortunately it didn't solve her core problem; what to write as a reply to Edward's letter.

She massaged the stubborn crease between her eyebrows, soothing the tense muscle and trying to think calmly and rationally.

Alright...he wrote her back...he seemed _injured_ and...blue eyes blinked a few times before she grabbed a hold of the letter and re-read the first few lines.

"Injured?!" she exclaimed aloud in the emptiness of her home, startling poor Den beside her, "He was injured during a battle?! That's why he couldn't write back as soon as I expected..." worry filled her heart, it didn't take a genius to assume soldiers always tried acting tough because their position simply demands it, so if he wrote he was a bit injured just...how badly injured was he really? Did he have broken bones? Flesh wounds? Bullet wounds? What did soldiers even fight with nowadays? Firearms?

Thousands of thoughts ran through Winry's mind, none of them good and suddenly, she found her fingers reach for the pen and barely registered the sound of pen scratching on paper as she wrote.

 _"_ _Hello Edward,_

 _You idiot! Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were injured? Did you break something? Do you have flesh wounds? Bullet wounds? I heard from Lena that when Greed says he is 'a bit injured' then that means hospitalization for a week! Tell me the truth, just how bad was that confrontation with Drachma?"_

She stopped, biting her lip and felt fear suddenly cloud her mind. She usually tried staying as far away from the military as possible, with the friends she had, but ever since writing to Edward it made her think what was really going on at the front lines. Was Drachma really so powerful? Did they outnumber them? Were their forces superior in strength than their own? She knew well enough that Amestris was a country proud of their military might, but she also heard Drachma's growth spurt and their increase in military.

She shook her head, clenching her fist, " _Ugh...here I am worrying about the war! Since when do I think about that?! And why do I feel so worried about Edward? I don't even know him! And yet..."_ she looked down at the letter he had written her, the writing wasn't the neatest she had seen but it was clear, relatively easy to read and to a degree, cursive, " _He seemed...to enjoy writing me, or at least hearing a bit of something from here,"_ Riza's earlier words echoed in her mind.

 _"_ _...Soldiers miss their home the most. The more you talk about what's currently going on at home gets them interested and happy, you can talk about anything."_

 _"_ _I just want you to know how writing a stranger letters just may save their lives,"_

Winry sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. Her eyes lazily trailed over the words she had written so far. With a determined expression, she continued writing.

" _You know, I don't think it's very polite attempting to flirt poorly with a woman you've never even met in your life."_ Winry snickered evilly, that was sure to rile him up a bit.

" _Though I admit, Mei showed me a few pictures of Alphonse and he seemed sweet and cute. I have blue eyes if you must know, Mr. Wannabe-Sexy-Soldier,"_ she shook her head at her own lame jab, rolling her eyes. She suddenly felt like a teenager again, writing like this, joking like this. Unbelievable.

Winry read the paragraph where Ed had explained what his unit did, like making plans, mapping out routs and the like. She rose an eyebrow in curiosity, well...that seemed interesting.

" _I see, I didn't know there were rules to follow when there is a war. I realize it may sound naïve, but I actually thought that soldiers just...grab their weapons and head into battle really. That's really sweet, I think, I mean he is your younger brother after all so it makes sense for you to be protective."_ Winry paused for a moment, contemplating her answer.

He wrote that he wasn't really the rank of a Captain but rather that of Lieutenant General. She giggled at the part where he wrote Greed were more "dangerous-looking" and "insane".

" _So, Greed is the insane, incredibly dangerous twin huh? Well, I met him but only on occasion, we didn't really hang out. And when the girls and I have had a PJ party at my place, Ling had suddenly climbed in through my window and Greed fell in right after him so I wasn't really sure what to make of them till that point. But they are alright I guess, a bit crazy but they are good at heart. Lena keeps complaining how Greed behaves like a big cuddly bear when they're alone and he hogs her all to himself. Let's just say I wasn't surprised his name is "Greed"."_

Winry paused and her eyes widened for a fraction, " _Uh...is his name_ _ **really**_ _Greed or is that just a codename or nickname? Maybe I could ask Ed...he would know...or maybe I could ask Lena later too..."_

Winry stuck her tongue out in concentration as she began to write again, " _Say Ed, do you know if 'Greed' is his_ _ **actual**_ _name or if it's just a codename or nickname or something? I've always found it unusual how his name was Greed to be honest but the more stories I heard from Lena, the more sense it makes,"_ Winry snickered to herself, thinking of how surprised she was when Lena had told her how Greed was a typical cuddler, since it didn't suit his appearance at all.

" _Wait, so Roy has his own unit and Ed his own? I didn't know that...must be a bit weird sharing the control...or maybe not, I wouldn't really know."_ She thought with a quirked up smile.

Winry snorted when she re-read the part about Kimblee being sent to a mental institution because he loved hearing things explode, " _I have only met Mr. Kimblee once but he seemed nice enough. At one point he seemed kind of scary but he was the perfect gentleman to Riza and I before he was sent to the border."_

Winry couldn't help but grin when he seemed interested in hearing gossip, she herself wasn't too keen on gossiping or whispering behind someone's back, but granny had always told her it was healthy to gossip sometimes about funny people, it "strengthened the bonds" she said.

Winry smirked, resting her chin against her open palm.

" _Well, I thank you kindly for it, maybe I should get a medal since it looked painful...Oh! And I heard Lena and Greed were caught doing something dirty through the military lines! Is that true? She wouldn't utter a word to me about it maybe you've caught them? I sure hope so! I need more blackmail material against her!"_

Winry giggled to herself, thinking what she should write next. Her gaze softened when she read the last paragraph, about how she should keep safe and greet her friends. Well, he was certainly sweet. A bit obnoxious but sweet. Winry smiled.

" _I will don't worry, nothing much here that can happen to me unlike with you. So far, everything is fine. Business is going nicely, granny comes from time to time to see how I'm doing, though I just think she wants to ogle my poor assistant... Everyone else is doing good, doing their jobs and such. Oh right, I'm supposed to tell you that Ling doesn't have "doorphobia" but as Lan Fan put it "a intense hatred and reluctance to use doors for fear of someone standing behind them and attacking him" or something like that._

 _P.S. Not to worry soldier! I'll salute to her like a first class trained captain! *wink smiley*_

 _Reading you soon,_

 _Winry."_

The blonde young woman sighed, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling. Den suddenly barked and when she looked down at him, he was holding his bowl in his mouth, whining softly.

Winry smiled and stood up, leaving the letter to be sent _after_ she fed her gluttonous dog.

* * *

Greed stomped his foot angrily against the ground and tore at his hair, "Argh! I _knew_ it! I knew the ice queen wasn't really injured! Hell, it would need another overpowered Armstrong on steroids to even scratch her!" Ling shook his head at his brother's burst of anger.

They finally arrived at Fort Briggs and were currently situated deep within the fort, inside of Olivier's office.

The same woman who claimed to be injured...hadn't a single scratch on her...

Olivier flatly ignored it, "I see my telegram reached you," Kimblee nodded, calmly assessing his surroundings and the situation at hand.

"Care to explain the telegram then?" he rose an eyebrow.

Olivier smirked, closing her eyes:" Gladly. It's true, we need reinforcements but not because of my supposed injuries. Drachma has revealed to us a new enemy, a opponent that exceeds the strength of any men they have thrown at us thus far," Kimblee frowned.

"Who is it?"

Olivier opened her eyes, her voice echoing ominously within the confines of the bunker, "His name is Sloth," she retrieved a slip of paper from the inner side of her uniform, "Physically larger than any man, enhanced speed and strength, he tires out quickly and seems to dislike work outside of his commanding zone."

Kimblee observed the photo of the super soldier, he was indeed far larger than any men standing before him, even larger than Alex Armstrong. He showed it to Greed and Ling, Greed whistled lowly, "Hm, would ya look at that," Greed frowned and Ling rose an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he tilted his head in confusion, taking the photo from his brother.

Greed turned his head, eyes narrowed, "Nothing," Olivier rose an eyebrow at his behavior.

"You seem to know him," she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, her hand resting on the hilt of her saber in a threatening manner.

Greed scoffed at the apparent threat, "Well, I don't," he sent her a look and Kimblee chuckled.

"Whatever the case, I presume "Sloth" is only his codename?" Kimblee looked inquiringly at the blonde general.

She crossed her arms, "We assume so, but every other bit of information we could gather of him is classified. We didn't even find him in the database of the State Military. It seems as if he isn't even a registered soldier here," her gaze hardened.

Greed frowned dryly, "I doubt you will find any information on him anyway," Olivier sent him a sidelong glance.

"And why is that?" when Greed remained silent she growled lowly, "I suggest you tell us what you know, _Major General_ ," Olivier wrapped her gloved hand around the hilt of her sword, her gaze sharp and condescending.

Greed growled.

 **Oho...what could possibly be going on here? Does Greed know Sloth in this story? Will he switch sides?** Hihi, stay tuned for the next chapter! :3

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Emma:** I've heard tons of stories about Yuri on ice but sadly haven't gotten to watching yet, is it good? :)

 **Panic:** (smiles) Thanks buddy! :D Yeah you got that right (about the telepathy thing lol) ;)

 **QuinzMoon:** Hey! :) haha that's alright really! English isn't my first language either :) Yeah, it does, I looked it up (for research) and it really does, it just has different names for it but it does exist where you can either send gifts or letters to soldiers. Aw, thank you so, so much! :3 Seriously, thank you your review brightened my day! ^,^ Hmm...well, as the author, I'm not really allowed to spoiler anything BUT I can say there will be a lot of twists in this story! ;) Thank you for reading my story and have a lovely day too! :)


	12. The Sins of the Past

**Hi everyone! I'm back!** I'm curious (but don't feel pressured to answer) how was your Valentine's Day? :)

I'm really happy about the positive feedback I have so far for this story, I originally intended for the story to be...maybe 6 chapter long at best but...wow. ^^ It's still fairly short and at the beginning of the plot but I'm starting to develop it into a full fledged story :3

Thank you all kindly for your support! I always appreciate any and all feedback you throw my way! ;)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Curligurl0896:** Thank you! :) Yeah, I know, which is why I already have a cool name for Greed! ;) haha Personally, I found it a bit weird at first, but after testing it out and imagining a person actually _having_ a name like that, I don't know...it sounded kinda cool ^^BTW: Ling wasn't shocked hearing Greed adopted the sin as his codename because, of course, he knew his _real_ name. Hihi, mysteries, mysteries... ;)

 **QuinzMoon:** Hi there! ;) Oh, it's actually Croatian ^^. FINALLY! . Hell, I thought I was doing a lousy job at portraying that, I mean signaling she was indeed lonely. Despite having a good job, being loved by her friends and customers, she is actually lonely by the end of the day when she's alone in her house with only Den there. I guess I could try to point it more out in future chapters but thank you for noticing it :) hahah that's right, I'm always happy about reviews though (simply cause I'm review addicted :3)

 **Pouda-P:** Hihi, thanks a lot! :) Really thank you, I know people often come here to expect a lot of EdWin fluff and such but in reality, I wanted to try and create a good balance in between. First of all, they have to even be friends and fall in love for there to be fluff! ^^ Maybe this story will be longer than I planed... oh boy.

 **Pfeh:** haha thanks for your opinion. Wow really? You love it? Seriously? (tries not to fangirl shout) Aw thanks so much! :) haha I'm still unused to compliments I guess :P Oh yeah...that's a guarantee, I can definitely promise that the first time they met, the first thing he will see is Winry's wrench in his face ;)

* * *

 **The Sins of the Past**

 _Previously on "Letters from War"..._

 _Olivier opened her eyes, her voice echoing ominously within the confines of the bunker, "His name is Sloth," she retrieved a slip of paper from the inner side of her uniform, "Physically larger than any man, enhanced speed and strength, he tires out quickly and seems to dislike work outside of his commanding zone."_

 _Kimblee observed the photo of the super soldier, he was indeed far larger than any men standing before him, even larger than Alex Armstrong. He showed it to Greed and Ling, Greed whistled lowly, "Hm, would ya look at that," Greed frowned and Ling rose an eyebrow._

 _"_ _What's wrong?" he tilted his head in confusion, taking the photo from his brother._

 _Greed turned his head, eyes narrowed, "Nothing," Olivier rose an eyebrow at his behavior._

 _"_ _You seem to know him," she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, her hand resting on the hilt of her saber in a threatening manner._

 _Greed scoffed at the apparent threat, "Well, I don't," he sent her a look and Kimblee chuckled._

 _"_ _Whatever the case, I presume "Sloth" is only his codename?" Kimblee looked inquiringly at the blonde general._

 _She crossed her arms, "We assume so, but every other bit of information we could gather of him is classified. We didn't even find him in the database of the State Military. It seems as if he isn't even a registered soldier here," her gaze hardened._

 _Greed frowned dryly, "I doubt you will find any information on him anyway," Olivier sent him a sidelong glance._

 _"_ _And why is that?" when Greed remained silent she growled lowly, "I suggest you tell us what you know, Major General," Olivier wrapped her gloved hand around the hilt of her sword, her gaze sharp and condescending._

 _Greed growled._

* * *

Both parties stared each-other down, Greed's eyes briefly moved to the motion of Olivier lifting her thumb up to slide her sword slightly out of its sheath, a clear sign she was going to draw it soon should Greed not give her an answer, _fast_.

The room grew cold, Greed's instincts of year long fighting telling him this woman wouldn't hesitate for a split second of cutting him down should she even harbor the slightest suspicion of Greed being in allegiance to the unknown threat.

Greed sighed heavily, opening his eyes to look directly at the blonde general, "It happened years ago, I thought they all died in the war," Olivier slid her saber fully back into its sheath with a soft click, Greed buried his hands deep in his pants pockets, a faraway look in his eyes, "We were seven back then and we had something of a "blood pact", sworn siblings you could say."

Kimblee tensed, his eyes hardening at hearing this newfound information that had been withheld from him, as well as Mustang and Edward. Ling grew worried, moving just a bit closer to his brother should the mad bomber snap irrationally at any given moment. He wasn't called the "Mad Bomber" for nothing, after all.

Greed scoffed, ignoring Kimblee's obvious displeasure, "I realized too late that they were a bad idea. We created codenames for each of us, naming ourselves after the seven deadly sins. Pride, Envy, Sloth, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony...and Greed. It fit us because our personalities mirrored the sins." Greed crossed his arms, face scrunched up in displeasure.

Olivier rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "When has this "blood pact" been made?" her eyes locked on Greed, voice filled with disdain.

He frowned, "Six years ago,"

Olivier frowned, "...Have they expressed their desire for revenge for deserting them like you did?"

Greed snorted, "The better question is when _didn't_ they? 'Course they did, but I made myself scarce after I left." Greed gave a crooked grin.

Olivier's voice was firm and sharp, "And why _did_ you leave?"

Greed smiled, "Because a stubborn as hell woman made me," he grinned and Ling pinched his brother's cheeks, eyes twinkling in mischief.

Olivier turned around, motioning for Kimblee to come closer to her, ignoring the bickering brothers behind her.

"Listen Kimblee," the man in white leaned in, eyes focused to what the general had to say.

" _No! No! I told you to stop doing that crap around people! Get the hell off me!"_

Kimblee sighed at the quarrelling brothers.

" _Aw but Greed-nii is so cute when he's talking about Lena-chan!"_

 _"_ _Stop talking like a retard and_ _ **stop pinching my cheeks**_ _!"_

"Listen and listen well, contact your ominous sources for any additional information you are able to gather about any other soldiers with similar profiles as this Sloth person. I'll contact Mustang personally,"

"What about Captain Elric?" Kimblee tilted his head.

Olivier snorted, "That half pint doesn't have the guts to handle something of this caliber, I think I'll let the grown-ups handle it. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kimblee sighed, "I suppose," when his eyes trailed over the two brothers, he rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I ask myself who the adults are supposed to be,"

Olivier smirked, "I'm asking myself that too," she left her office with a click of her boots, a slam of the door and the brief sight of a dark skinned man with spiky silver hair and shades following behind her.

* * *

"Winry!" a familiar female voice called out sharply.

"No!" came Winry's whiney, but firm voice, barking back her answer.

"Come on!"

"Nu-uh!" Winry shook her head.

"But you gotta!"

"You can't make me! I have a _wrench_!" Winry threateningly waved her wrench over her head and Lena rolled her eyes.

"I am a martial arts teacher need I remind you," she rested her hands on her hips, sighing.

"W-well I...I...I can use my wrench!" Winry stomped her feet on the floor like a angry toddler.

Lena shook her head, "Come on, what's so bad about it?"

"I don't wear dresses you know? A-and I'm not really...er..." Lena rolled her eyes for the fourth time that day.

"Oh come on, the guy is really sweet and kind. Don't you trust me with picking out guys for you?" Lena put on a kicked puppy look, sticking out her bottom lip.

Winry scoffed, "Remember Robert?" she deadpanned.

"I _didn't_ sic him on you!" Lena crossed her arms.

"Well, I don't want to either way!" Winry crossed her arms as well in a pure act of defiance.

" _Ugh Wiiiinn_!" Lena threw her hands up in the air, "When was the last time you went out? Met a nice guy? _When_?!" she fixed her with a sharp gaze.

"I don't _like_ blind dates!" Winry growled in frustration.

"This _isn't_ a blind date! ...It's just a date with a guy you've never met!" Lena smirked, satisfied with her answer.

Winry's eyes almost bulged out at it, "That _is_ a blind date!" Lena shrugged, inspecting her blunt nails.

" _Fine_! But this is the _last time_!" Lena grinned happily, clapping her hands and throwing the light blue summer dress at her friend.

"Right! Go and get ready, I'll go and reserve a strip club-I-I mean a place for you guys to eat!" Lena grinned innocently and winked, speeding off out of Winry's bedroom.

The blonde fell back on her bed, mentally cursing all of her friends for thinking she was some sort of old, lonely cat (or rather dog) lady with dust settling between her legs.

Couldn't they understand that she didn't _want_ to date presently? She just hadn't met anyone who caught her eye.

Winry called out as she pulled over a shirt, "Anyway, if I _may_ ask, who is this mystery guy?"

Lena's voice was far too cheery, "Oh! You'll like him! He's a real sweetheart! And he's shy too!"

Winry was skeptical, raising a fair eyebrow in suspicion, "What's his name?"

Lena pocked her head in through the gap in the door and grinned a suspiciously what Winry dubbed as "Greed-like" grin, "His name is Danny!" her smile was far too wide.

* * *

The poor man in a white dress shirt and formal black pants scratched at the back of his head, holding a nicely arranged bouquet of flowers in one hand, while nervously running the other through his hair a few times.

"Would you stop that! You look fine!" Maria Ross slapped at his fidgeting hand, "Just remember, be polite, smile, don't say stupid things and you'll be fine!" she smiled brightly.

Danny blushed, fixing the collar of his shirt, "I-I'm not sure about this, I mean, I've never met her! What if she doesn't like me? What if I don't like her? What if I _do_ say something stupid?!" Danny started pacing around in circles before Maria firmly slapped the back of his head, causing him to cry out in pain and pathetically rub at the sore spot.

Maria growled and pointed a finger at him, eyes narrowed, "Now listen up Brosh! Everything will be fine! As long as you remember to breathe and not behave like you do at your watch post nothing should go wrong! If you don't like each-other then you move on! Simple as that I believe." She sighed in exasperation, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Danny swallowed, tapping his foot lightly against the floor.

"Is it possible for me to-"

Ross growled, " _No!_ You are _not_ cancelling the date! Orders from your superior!" she lifted a finger in the air.

Danny blinked, " _Which one?!_ " he shouted frantically, growing exasperated with his partner.

Ross smiled, "Me of course! Don't you forget that I'm a higher rank than you. Now fix yourself up and try to stand still. I'll be back by the time your date ends," she waved as she turned her back to him and left.

Danny's eyes widened in realization and he called after his partner, "Hey wait! _How do you know when our date ends?! ROSS!"_

He froze in the position for a few moments, before he slumped his shoulders and sighed heavily, trying to be patient in a nerve wracking situation.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! You must be Dan right?" Winry grinned apologetically, huffing in exhaustion at the run she had to endure.

Danny jumped and turned around, blinking a few times in surprise before he smiled at her arrival, "N-no worries, I think I was too early anyway," he thought with a cringe, " _About an hour too early..."_ , he brushed off his train of thoughts to smile pleasantly at the young woman, "You must be Winry right?"

She straightened herself and sent him a bright smile, "Mhm! The one and only!" she laughed.

Danny smiled and extended a hand, "Nice to meet you! I'm Danny Brosh,"

Winry smiled, shaking his hand firmly, "Winry Rockbell,"

His eyes widened, "Ah, hey wait! You own that automail shop don't you? The Rockbells?" he blinked.

She smiled proudly, "That's right!" she winked and grinned, proud of her work. Danny scratched at the back of his neck, smiling.

"Uh...t-t-these are for you!" he almost _shoved_ the bouquet of flowers into her face, before he quickly remembered the proper etiquette and slightly pulled them to himself so they weren't poking her in the eye.

Winry blinked, surprised at seeing the beautiful flower arrangement and gladly accepted them with a shy smile, "O-oh, um, t-thank you very much!" she grinned nervously, not at all used to getting flowers on her first, _blind_ mind you _blind_ , date.

With a nervous giggle, Danny held his hand out, "Um...shall we?" he grinned.

Winry smiled, internally cursing Lena before she replied with a leveled voice, "Sure..."

* * *

" _You set her up on a blind date? With Sergeant Brosh?"_ Riza's tone suggested she was intrigued and amused, whatever came first.

Lena giggled, watching the pair from a safe distance away, "Damn right I did! Oh you should see it Riza, Winry will kill me once the date is over!" she snickered.

A sigh escaped the General's wife, " _I don't doubt that one bit. But...why Sergeant Brosh? As I recall, he is quite fond of Second Lieutenant Ross..."_

Lena's hand went flying to her mouth, eyes wide, " _WHAT?! WHY_ didn't you tell me that _earlier_?! I wouldn't have set them up! Oh damn..." Lena slapped her face.

Riza chuckled, " _I suppose it doesn't matter, his loyalty to Ross is almost as strong as Roy's is to me, he won't stray from her side don't worry...And I doubt Winry would take a liking to him anytime soon, really,"_

Lena rose an eyebrow, "Huh? Why is that?" she tilted her head, keeping a close eye on the two wandering pair.

" _Brosh is a good soldier and a certainly good man but...his intense infatuation to Ross isn't very discreet, he is rather nosy and lazy on occasion and he's shy around women sometimes, at least when he is forced into an uncomfortable situation. I'm not sure Winry would appreciate those qualities..."_ Lena pouted, placing a hand on her hip.

"Hm...should I break it up?" she asked skeptically.

A pause, " _...I never said the date would have to be cancelled now have I?"_ Lena grinned widely at the underlying teasing tone of Riza's voice.

"There ya go sharpshooter! I just love when you're making people squirm, especially if it's not directed towards me!" she grinned, laughing.

Riza laughed as well and Lena could imagine her sitting at her desk and shaking her head at the whole predicament.

Suddenly, Lena heard a knock sound distantly through the telephone.

" _Enter,"_ she could hear Riza's muffled command, the phone was probably pressed against her chest to momentarily take care of her guest.

" _Lieutenant General Mustang?"_ Lena heard a unidentified male voice ask firmly.

" _Yes?"_

 _"_ _We have just received a telegram from Captain Elric's base,"_ Lena's whole attention shifted to the conversation, that was Ed's base! Greed was in it too!

Riza's voice tightened, " _What does it say?"_

 _"_ _I'm sorry but..."_

Lena's eyes widened and before she could loudly ask what was wrong, she bit her lip to keep from talking.

" _...Fort Briggs was attacked,"_

Lena's heart raced in fear, she had heard from Riza that Ed had sent Greed, Kimblee and Ling to Fort Briggs!

" _When?"_ the alertness and worry in Riza's voice was unmistakable.

" _Two days ago, sir. We haven't heard anything since then-"_

The conversation ended abruptly as Lena quickly slapped her phone shut and sprinted towards her car, heading to Central.

* * *

His vision was a bit red and a whole deal of black. He blinked slowly and when his other senses started kicking in, he could feel pain.

He estimated the damage wasn't critical, still, he gingerly moved his limbs only just so, fearing the bastard that did this may still be there and it would be a rookies mistake of alerting the enemy that they were alive.

Greed slowly creaked an eye open, blinking back the blood and assessed the situation after his blurry vision cleared.

The ground from under the massive desk of Olivier had been destroyed, a large, uneven hole gaping from underneath, two soldiers lay dead in the corner, their skulls smashed in.

His opened eye trailed over to the right, Ling was there and when Greed saw the shallow movement of breath, he internally sighed in relief. Kimblee was leaning against the wall, seemingly barely conscious as he was holding his bleeding side. Olivier herself was nowhere to be found. Figures, she had left them before the attack had taken place.

Slowly, after listening in for any footsteps, Greed gingerly lifted himself off the ground, pushing off the debris that had knocked him out in the first place.

"K-Kimblee..." Greed groaned, gripping his pounding head, discovering a small wound the blood shining eerily on his fingers from the dim lighting the lights ahead provided, "What...w-what the hell...happened?" he shuffled over to Ling, his pulse was strong, his breathing seemed fine. With Greed's limited medical experience, he deduced he hadn't suffered any injures aside from minor surface injuries inflicted by the impact of the flying debris when the attack had happened.

The man slowly opened an eye, his breathing slightly accelerated, he was in pain, a thin line of blood trailed down from the corner of his mouth, "It was...i-it was the s-soldier...Sloth...h-he had come f-from...underground," Kimblee tried righting himself but Greed firmly pressed on his shoulder so he didn't injure himself more, "He...argh...he came looking for...someone." Kimblee turned his face to the side and spat out blood.

"Who?" Greed grit his teeth, expression grim.

Kimblee winced, "He said he had to kill... the blonde general. Olivier had left before it happened, but I'm not sure if that monster followed her..." he sucked in a sharp breath.

Greed growled and quickly grabbed his communication device, "This is Fort Briggs to Elric base! I repeat Fort Briggs to Elric base!" he shouted into the receiver, angry beyond belief.

" _Elric base to Fort Briggs. We hear you Greed, what do you have to report?"_ Ed's voice echoed from the receiver.

"Listen up kid, we've been attacked. Kimblee's bleeding, he has a wound on his stomach and it ain't looking good. Ling is unconscious!" he gripped the phone harder.

" _WHAT?! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?! WHY DID I SEND YOU THERE FOR ANYWAY?!"_ Greed was about to explode at his superior until he heard shuffling, cursing and then a new, deeper more mature voice spoke, " _Greed, how bad is the damage?"_

Greed grit his teeth, it was Mustang, "Two Briggs men are dead, Kimblee's bleeding and needs medical attention fast, Ling's unconscious. General Olivier left but I don't know if the monster found her or not,"

" _Monster? What monster?"_

Greed swallowed, "His name is Sloth, he's a kind of a super soldier with enhanced physical strength and speed but is dim witted. He unexpectedly attacked from underground and knocked us all out. I was unconscious but judging by Kimblee's wounds I suppose he had a brief skirmish with him before he was wounded heavily," Greed pressed a hand to Kimblee's wound and the soldier hissed but nodded gratefully.

" _I'm sending more men to Fort Briggs immediately, they will come with the chopper and travel by truck. Wake up Ling and do anything you can to help Kimblee, I'll try to contact Armstrong and see if she's alright,"_

Greed sighed, "Yeah, sure just do that. Oh and Mustang?"

" _What is it Greed?"_

"Call your wife will you? Tell her she should relay a message for me,"

" _Are you implying of-!"_ Mustang's voice reached critical rage levels before Greed sharply cut him off, "Hell no! I ain't thinking of dying cowardly anytime soon! Now listen!"

Roy shut his mouth, relieved to hear Greed wasn't thinking of going after that 'monster' and risking the high possibility of dying.

"Tell Lena that I'm fine, that we had a bit of a fallback but that I'm alright. I'll call her as soon as I can,"

Roy sighed, " _Alright, I'll call her right away. Try to hold out for as long as you can, I'm sending Havoc and Breda as backup!"_

"Thanks sir. Greed out," he said before he pocketed the device and searched for Ling's medical backpack.

Once spotting it near Ling's body, leaning against the wall, Greed quickly grabbed it and took out pure alcohol and gauze.

He looked Kimblee in the eye, "Alright, you know the drill. This will hurt like a bitch but it will save your life, bite down into this," he offered Kimblee piece of rolled up cloth, which he had bitten into.

Kimblee nodded and Greed slowly cut open his uniform and removed the bomb straps. Greed hissed in sympathy when seeing the real damage, blood was leaking out from a shredded, messed up wound, Greed calculated to be not too deep that it damaged the organs, but just damaged tissue.

With firm but quick strokes, Greed cleaned away the blood with a roll of cloth soaked in alcohol and Kimblee groaned loudly into the cloth in his mouth, sinking his teeth into it. He would have screamed had his will not been so strong.

Greed muttered, "Sorry, hold on," Kimblee nodded and the peculiar, or maybe even creepy thing was, while Kimblee's eyes seemed exhausted from the pain, they were _alive_. More alive than ever and it reminded Greed of Kimblee's words he had uttered once during battles.

 _What could be more beautiful than doing work that puts your soul at risk, because_ _ **that's**_ _what it means to be_ _ **alive**_ _!_

Greed shook his head, working quickly and thoroughly to make sure he didn't miss anything before placing a disinfected, smooth cloth against the wound, to prevent it from sticking to the gauze once it came on top of it. Next he pressed a rolled up, thick gauze on top of the one he had just positioned over the bleeding wound and finally he helped Kimblee lean on him so he could wrap the wide bandage around his stomach better.

Once he tied it firmly, ignoring Kimblee's loud groan of pain, he sighed and looked at the bomber's face. It looked drained but alive, he took that as a good sign.

"Thank you... I owe you one," Kimblee said, words sincere and voice drained.

Greed nodded, "Try paying that back by staying alive," he looked at Ling and opted to finally try and wake him up. This had only been emergency medical care, Kimblee needed to have a professional look at and Ling was a medic after all.

"Hey! Wake up you idiot! We've got injured here!" Greed unceremoniously kicked Ling in the butt, his suspicions were confirmed when a loud snort sounded from his brother's mouth.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU STUPID JACKASS PRINCE!" Greed hollered right into Ling's ear, causing the medic to jump into the air and knock heads with Greed, who growled in annoyance and pain and punched him on the head.

"Quit giving me headaches and take care of Kimblee!" Greed pointed at the wounded soldier, Ling blinked, eyes adjusting and clearing before he quickly turned serious and knelt by Kimblee's side.

"How deep is it?" he checked the bandage, pressed a few spots around the ribs, "He may have internal bleeding," he looked at Kimblee, "Any numbness? Pressure around lungs and ribs?"

Kimblee chuckled hoarsely, "Nothing but a little sting and some pain,"

Ling frowned, "Have you disinfected the wound?"

Greed snapped, " 'Course I did! What do you hold me for? A fool?"

Ling rolled his eyes and secured a compression bandage around Kimblee's ribs and stomach, "It hurts but it will slow the bleeding, it's very uncomfortable and I usually avoid using it but until help arrives it could be a while," Kimblee nodded, smiling slightly.

"You have my thanks," Ling nodded and smiled.

"So...what happened here?" Ling looked around, taking note of the two dead Briggs men and the thrashed place. No sign of Armstrong either.

"Sloth attacked us," Kimblee answered, a wheeze.

"That super soldier?" Ling frowned, Greed tensed.

"That's right. He's resistant to almost any physical attacks and my bombs don't do much damage either," Kimblee frowned, seeming troubled by that thought.

Greed snorted, eyes narrowed, " Course they won't, he may have the appearance of a human but he is differently composed than one." Ling and Kimblee rose their eyebrows and Greed decided to quickly inform them about what he knew, with no small amount of wariness at their reactions, "They have been injected with a special serum, which enhances certain qualities. The scientist creating the serum can choose which specific attribute he would want be enhanced. It can be enhanced eyesight, night vision, enhanced hearing, enhanced durability or flexibility, near to limitless stamina, body parts like finger nails pr teeth can be turned into deadly weapons sharper than blades or the composition of carbon in your body can be magnified to the point of having a near to indestructible shield, covered by skin." Greed's face was grim, knowing the consequences of withholding such privy information.

Kimblee's only question was this, „Were you also injected with the serum?" he locked eyes with the soldier.

"Yeah," Greed's answer stunned Ling, who had no idea about it.

"What?" he took a step forward, eyes hurt and questioning.

Greed bit his lip, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you...I couldn't,"

Ling's gaze hardened, his expression suddenly angry, "Does Lena know?!" Greed remained silent, gaze downcast, "Well does she?!" Ling pressed further, voice raising, fisting the collar of his uniform.

"No," Greed looked his brother in the eye, "I couldn't tell her. I didn't want anything to happen to you two. Sloth will tell them I'm alive and they may seek revenge. I thought they were dead but..." Greed bit his lip, "I did it to protect-"

Ling punched Greed square in the face, eyes burning, "You stupid moron! Don't you get it?! We are family damn it! Family sticks together and shares their pain! I could have worked on a cure! Or helped you through it! Lena too! How the hell will you look her in the eye when you return?!" he was livid, dark eyes burning.

Greed gave a dry chuckle, eyes pained and knowing, eyes that have seen far too much for his young age, " _If_ I return..."

"Stop pissing me off!" Ling punched him again and Greed wiped his mouth and said quietly, "There is no cure..." dark bangs identical to Ling's covered his solemn eyes.

"Well I would have found one!" Ling shouted, jabbing his finger at Greed, "Don't go getting all depressed on me! We will find a cure, we will defeat those bastards and I can see my beautiful Lan Fan again and you'll see Lena again! _Got that_?!" Ling crossed his arms, eyes narrowed down at his older brother.

Greed remained silent before the shadow covering his eyes disappeared and the ghosts of the past vanished from his eyes, he gave a small grin, "Yeah...I got it," he smirked and stood up, dusting himself off.

He clapped Ling on the shoulder with a small grin, before punching him in the face.

Ling stumbled back, clutching gingerly at his nearly broken jaw, "Ouch! What did you do that for?!" Ling's bottom lip trembled, eyes wide and innocent.

Greed rotated his wrist, a small frown on his face, "Tch...ya don't hit your older brother moron..." he remained silent for a moment before he grinned widely and ruffled Ling's hair roughly.

The Xingese medic grumbled about the treatment but his look softened and he sighed, looking at a stunned Kimblee, "Let's get you out of here. I'm worried about that blood you're losing..."

Kimblee grunted with effort, until Ling squatted down in front of Kimblee, "Well, hop on, I'll get you out of there and Greed will be acting as our shield," he winked, grinning.

Greed shook his head, _"You have no idea..."_ but he kept his thoughts to himself, grabbing the Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifle slung over his broad back and bringing it to the front, one ammunition belt attached to it in case things would need to go quick and deadly out there.

Swallowing down his pride, Kimblee allowed Ling to slowly position him on his back, carrying him piggy back style.

Greed laughed, "Oh man...too bad I don't have a camera with me, I bet Lena would have loved the photos..." Kimblee shot him a murderous look and Greed lifted his hands, "Alright, alright... I've got all the pictures I need in my head anyway," Kimblee was _not_ amused.

Greed once again checked the magazine, it was full, good. Safety, released. Greed smirked, unusual blood lust lining his handsome face, "Let's get 'em good..."

Ling sensed the increasing blood lust rolling off his twin, itching for a fight. It may have had something to do with the enemy being a former comrade-turned-enemy that got him so riled up, maybe because Kimblee was injured, Ling unable to fight that increased the strong drive to protect them that caused Greed to be like this. Whatever it was, Ling hoped there wouldn't be much bloodshed. A silly thought in times of war, he knew.

Greed moved first, molding himself to the wall and motioning with one hand to follow.

With a bit of readjustment on Ling's side, the medic and the wounded soldier treaded slowly after Greed, despite being exhausted, Kimblee kept a ever watchful eye and ear open to any suspicious sounds.

One would think thanks to those countless of explosions without as much as ear protectors to shield his sensitive hearing from the loud noise of the bombs and the explosions, Kimblee's hearing would have to be nearly nonexistent. But to the surprise of many, the expert bomber had excellent hearing, which he used to his every advantage in every situation.

It was him that heard Sloth in the first place, had he known that the soldier would have punched a hole through the ground he would have immediately moved out of the way, but to him, it had sounded like digging, therefore he concluded there may be construction work made for underground tunnels as additional escape routes.

Sometimes, he hated his advanced thinking.

Greed's footsteps were silent, expertly decreasing the noise by walking lightly and carefully avoiding any small rocks or cracks that may make more noise to alert the enemy of their location.

Greed froze and Ling followed suit, not daring to voice his thoughts and ask what was wrong.

The older Xingese twin frowned, stance stiff and muscles tense, preparing for battle. One hand going to the belt filled with bombs, the other gripping the rifle tighter, going for the trigger.

Ling prepared himself, estimating where he should run to bring Kimblee to safety and hide him somewhere safe so he could return and help his brother.

The nearly inhuman growl coming from Greed was the only warning before a loud crash and a large blur zipped right past Ling's vision, smashing directly into Greed.

"Greed!" Ling shouted, both him and Kimblee watching in anticipation what the hell just happened.

When the smoke slowly cleared, it revealed Greed, slammed into the crumbled wall, holding his rifle horizontally to block a inhumanly large fist from directly connecting with his body, his arms were shaking from the effort, a murderous expression on his face.

It was truly a monster of a man, the large soldier that had moved with the speed of light was quite possibly twice the size of Olivier's brother Alex, who was known for his incredible height and width but this even surpassed the muscular man himself.

Sloth's eyes were almost round, a unusual pale blue, so pale one would think it was actually white. His hair was short and black, thin strands reaching his ears.

Kimblee's eyes narrowed down at one single detail he noticed about him, his shoulder.

The symbol of the Amestrian State Military should have been on it but instead there was what appeared to be a red dragon or snake eating its own tail.

His eyes widened, he tried to speak but blood escaped his mouth instead. Ling immediately noticed, reaching inside his pocket to retrieve a tissue and wipe the blood off his mouth, he ordered strictly, "Don't speak, Kimblee, you'll worsen your condition,"

Kimblee forced himself to still and rest, knowing the dire consequences his futile actions could bring.

Greed said he _knew_ Sloth, or at least what he was so he also must know...of that tattoo.

" _No...it's not a mere body art. It's a symbol, a symbol for life and death, for birth and rebirth, for...immortality,"_ Kimblee froze when Sloth began to speak.

His voice was slow and one would think he were stupid to talk the way he did, "Sloth...finally found you...Greed," he applied more pressure against Greed's rifle and Greed's arms bulged with the strain of keeping him back.

Greed spat through clenched teeth, "Yeah, well, nice to see you again Sloth. Sorry I hadn't come to some tea and cookies, but I had been _busy_!" he pushed the large man away and used the momentum to kick his chin, sending him flying on his back.

Greed quickly snatched a explosive bomb from his belt, grinning.

Sloth slowly lifted his head, "Everyone thought...you were dead...Pride said...we need to...kill you..." he slowly started to lift himself but Greed fire a shot at his leg before he could do so.

Instead of crying out in pain, Sloth simply blinked and Greed quickly realized why, " _Damn...protectors? Hm...looks like they equipped him well for this..."_ he thought with a bit of worry in the back of his mind.

"Oh, Pride huh? How's the little runt? Still hurt I left him for someone better?" Greed taunted, counting the steps he needed to take in order to close in on Sloth and disable him before he launched another attack.

Sloth was unfazed, "...Lust...said you might be...in the military...she found you...in the data...book..." Greed's taunting smirk instantly vanished, his face paling as he realized a very horrifying possibility.

In order to gain access to the database of the State Military, one would either need to be a high rank, privileged through special permission from the higher ups or the worst thing, a _part_ of one of the elite of the military.

"Lusty's in the military?! What the hell?!" Greed wasted no time in voicing his thoughts but instead of answering, Sloth moved in for the kill.

Greed's rifle shattered in thousands of miniscule pieces as Sloth's fist slammed through the metal straight into Greed, blood immediately surging through his mouth as his eyes widened and he released a pained yell, several ribs cracking from the harsh impact of Sloth's fist against his ribcage.

" ** _GREED!_** " Ling shouted out in panic, one arm holding Kimblee while reaching toward his gun with the other but he froze at the hand motion from none other than Greed.

Blood was trickling down Greed's mouth slowly, but his roguish grin was still there, much to the confusion of all parties present, Greed placed a hand on top of Sloth's fist, "Let me show you..." he pressed down, "...what it means...to _anger_ me... _Sloth_ ,"

Sharp nails dug into Sloth's skin, blood spilling down his arm, bone trembling under the heavily applied pressure from Greed's hand, "...I haven't used this in a while but..." he grinned, "I don't suppose I should go easy on someone also injected with the serum do I?!" he laughed and slammed his elbow against Sloth's jaw, the soldier went flying and crashing into the wall several feet opposite of Greed.

Greed craned his neck, wiping his mouth from the blood that he had spat out earlier, Ling watched in horror while Kimblee's eyes were wide in surprise, "Heh...let me show you what it means angering _Greed the Avaricious!"_ with a grin that rivaled the devils, Greed moved in to attack.

 **Cliffhanger? Yes, yes I think so. Phew...woah...so much action and drama now...oh I love it! :3 So what did you think? Anything I should improve? What do you think will happen next?**


	13. The Ultimate Shield

(grins) Alright, so I left you all with a evil little cliffhanger in the previous chapter! I love writing fighting scenes so I'll try to flesh it out as much as I can :3 Hope you will enjoy it!

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Lily:** Hmm...we will see ;) Though I can't really promise anything!

 **Emma:** Youre very welcome! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please feel free to critize me for anything you think doesn't fit or sound right :)

 **Pfeh:** (grins) Thank you very much! :D Well, since this IS an AU story set in modern times...WITHOUT alchemy, highly unlikely, though I'll also give him something that hints at his shapeshifting abilities ;) Oh thank you so much haha, really, I'm glad a few enjoy this story :3 (tries not to fangirl) Aw, hell I'm gonna blush from all that praise! Guess I have the best luck of my readers spoiling me rotten ^_^ Hihi, without revealing too much, their meeting sure is going to be interesting and since I already decided at the beginning that their meeting will be something of a highlight, it will take a while before they can meet and the story (like in FMA:B) will also focus on other things, people and relationships and not just on them, but I'll try writing more EdWin here! :) Oh and please tell me if there's something wrong in the story or if I should improve something!

 **Aqua Lilly:** First off, hi there! Ah...really? I thought Air Force ranks are very much similar to the forces on land, with Captain being a far lower rank than General? Correct me if I'm mistaken though. I'm not sure if you've continued reading further, but if you did, I already explained it in the story. They call Ed "Captain" because it was at the rank of "Captain" that he made a name for himself as "Fullmetal" and became one of the more respected and more experienced soldiers out there, so the title "Captain" or "Cap" just stuck despite him going up the ranks. Many soldiers who know him to a personal level call him Captain for old times' sake. His official rank is below Roy, so Lieutenant General, with Roy being General. No worries about the rambling bomb, I've had a pretty rough day today so I understand where you're coming from ;) I'm basing it off of the US Army ranks, just like in FMA:B. If you have any more questions though, feel free to ask away! :)

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Ultimate Shield**

Lena was known to drive a bit faster than the norm, but the speed she was going at now, she was truly surprised she hadn't been halted by the cops by now.

She only just so swiveled around incoming cars and blinking red lights, slamming her foot on the gas pedal speeding off towards Central, which, under normal driving conditions, was about an hour away from the rural Resembool. Well...Lena made it there in under half an hour, practically jumping out of her car and running straight toward the large intimidating double doors with the Amestrian military insignia on top of them. She slammed them open, not caring for the alarmed or odd looks from officers and other military personnel.

"Miss, excuse me, but I would need your verification-" a rookie was stopped from talking by a approaching figure.

"It's alright, I know who this is," Second Lieutenant Maria Ross nodded toward the rookie and the man looked relieved to be freed, seeing the eerily frightening and very furious and concerned expression on Lena's face. She looked like she would have strangled him had Ross not interfered.

"Well, this is a surprise, what brings you here Lena-"

"Where is Hawkeye?" Lena's eyes were burning, with worry, with anger, with _fear._

Ross blinked, sensing the emergency in her voice, "She's in her office," she nodded and stepped aside to let her pass, but her look revealed she wanted answers once Lena finished her business.

Lena nodded gratefully and ran several corridors and turns south, left and right, straight ahead.

She didn't bother with knocking, "Riza! What the hell happened?!" Riza seemed concerned by Lena's appearance.

"Lena..." she stood up and motioned to close the door, Lena did so, pulling down the shades as well, "I figured you would come here, you abruptly ended our conversation," she closed her eyes and sighed, "I assume you heard about the attack on Fort Briggs,"

Lena growled, "I did! Now tell me what exactly happened? Are they injured?! Who attacked? How many Drachma soldiers did those bastards even send?!" Lena paced back and forth like a caged animal, Riza silently observed her before forcing her to sit down.

"Listen, Roy called me after you hung up. He gave me a brief update, he said Kimblee was injured and that both Greed and Ling were fine," relief immediately flooded Lena's features, a heavy, long sigh escaped her tightly coiled body.

"As for who attacked...it wasn't Drachma," those words caused Lena's eyes to narrow.

"What? You mean to tell me other countries sent their forces to attack us? Which was it? Are they in allegiance to Drachma?" Riza's expression troubled her greatly.

"No...it was within our ranks," brown eyes widened in shock as she tried processing the newly revealed information.

"W-what? Our _own_ forces?! But that...that...how? Doesn't the military keep strict tabs on everyone? How could this happen?" heavy silence hung in the air that threatened to choke Lena with suspense, her right foot nervously tapping on the floor.

Riza's expression was grim, "It wasn't a regular soldier, we couldn't find him in the database but he goes by the name of "Sloth","

Lena's eyes widened in horror at hearing that familiar name again after all these years.

* * *

Heavy breathing filled the relatively silent stony hallway of Fort Briggs. Ling was frozen stiff, fear and disbelief radiating off of him in waves. Kimblee could feel his frame subtly shaking, his own eyes wide in disbelief and astonishment.

He admitted, he had had his suspicions that Greed wasn't exactly... _normal_. His healing factor had been slightly faster than the average soldiers, his eyesight a bit sharper, his strength a bit more increased, his stamina, durability...

His durability was a frightening sight as he soon learned.

" _...the composition of carbon in your body can be magnified to the point of having a near to indestructible shield, covered by skin."_

Kimblee's eyes widened in realization.

" _That's what he meant by rearranging the density of carbon in your body, making them as hard as diamonds or as weak as graphite... By being injected by that serum he spoke of he has the ability to harden his skin and increase his defense and attack strength...unbelievable..."_ Kimblee keen eyes stayed trained on Greed, who was truly a sight to behold.

His defined jaw was moving with the labored breaths coming out of his mouth, blood smudged at the right corner of his mouth, eyes looked ablaze with murderous intent and determination, but what made even Kimblee's skin crawl wasn't that...

Rather it was his skin. His normally slightly tan skin tone changed to a deeper, metallic like grey, the veins in his arms more pronounced, as if the small particles of metal within his body were manifested on the surface. Apart from the coloration of skin Kimblee couldn't make out much of a difference, but he was sure there was something there since he managed to send the large monster _flying_ with a single punch.

Greed straightened his stance, cracking his knuckles and slowly walking toward the still body of Sloth, buried by crumbled rubble. He snorted in disdain, his voice rough, "Stop shitting me, Sloth. Get the hell up! Stop trying to trick me into believing you're down for the count, you may have the IQ of a two year old, but-" Greed quickly side stepped right before a large blur zipped past him, slamming into the hole where Greed's body previously was.

He smirked, rotating his wrist, "Thought so,"

Sloth slowly shook his head, pieces of stone falling here and there and Ling and Kimblee could only watch in stunned silence as the soldier regarded Greed silently, not attacking.

"Sloth...must kill Greed..." Sloth slowly moved, "...must find...blonde...general," just then, Kimblee noticed a peculiar thing about him. Heavy, thick metal shackles lacking chains were wrapped around Sloth's feet, right above his army boots. He rose an eyebrow, feeling his wound sting, was he a prisoner? Did he escape and disguise himself as military? Just what in the world was going on...

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it already. 'Must kill Greed', 'Must kill blonde general', _I get it_! But you're not going anywhere until you tell me where the others are," Greed's grin was anything but friendly, sharp teeth flashing in warning. Sloth seemed unfazed by the display of hostility and attacked.

Greed grunted at the brute strength the man forced down on him, while his shield protected him from nearly any and all attacks, Sloth still posed a problem.

Greed's eyes shifted to the position of Sloth's feet, " _Right foot, three-fifteen, left foot, seven-forty five no...forty seven. Gotcha!_ " Greed slammed his elbow against Sloth's joined hands, momentarily stunning him, before he moved down into a crouch and used his hands to slam his legs against Sloth's.

Once the large soldier started losing balance, Greed followed up with a series of punches and kicks, head butting him so Sloth's head hit the hard concrete beneath him, blood seeping from the wound that would have split a normal man's skull in half. Greed slammed his foot harshly against Sloth's broad chest and leaned down, violet eyes burning holes into Sloth's own pale ones, "Now..." sharp teeth flashed menacingly, "Where is the rest Sloth? Talk or you'll die," Greed emphasized his point by applying further pressure on his foot.

Sloth released a groan, "Such a drag..." he huffed before brutally slamming his head against Greed's, sending the startled male crashing against the wall.

When Sloth was starting to move towards Greed still form, Ling's vision turned narrow. He only saw Greed's bleeding head, eyes closed and most likely unconscious, he saw Sloth balling his hand into a fist and then he saw red. A _whole_ lot of red.

With speed Ling only used in rare situations that called for it, he quickly selected two needles from the pouch on his belt and embedded them into Sloth's fist and the side of his head, Kimblee's eyes widened.

" _Paralysis needles..."_ Kimblee quickly deduced upon seeing Sloth quickly falling backward, the ground shook beneath his unforgiving weight and the cobblestone beneath their feet vibrated violently. Ling carefully settled Kimblee against the wall before moving over to check on his brother.

Kimblee opened an eye, breathing shallow but controlled, "Is he...alright...?" he fought down the urge to vomit blood.

Ling sighed in relief after carefully pressing his fingers against Greed's skull, neck and ribs, "He seems alright, he doesn't seem to have internal bleeding. But Sloth may have cracked a rib or two from the looks of it, thankfully his skull isn't fractured, he will just have a nasty bump on his head after that hit." Ling frowned, "But..." he carefully poked Greed's skin on his arm, "Something...something wasn't right before. Did you see that? Sloth attacked him but didn't scratch him, Greed didn't suffer from any internal bleeding or a skull fracture despite being thrown like that." His gaze narrowed at Greed's unconscious face, "Just what are you hiding brother?"

"He said...he wouldn't go easy on someone also injected with the serum didn't he?" Ling turned towards Kimblee, "That means...whatever they injected into this man was also injected into Greed," he motioned toward Sloth tiredly.

"But they don't have the same advantages. Sloth is physically larger and stronger-" Ling's eyes widened when he remembered Greed's words.

 _"_ _They have been injected with a special serum, which enhances certain qualities. The scientist creating the serum can choose which specific attribute he would want be enhanced."_ Ling looked at Greed's face.

"He said he was also injected with the serum but...just what did that do to him? Enhanced durability?" he inspected his brother's bloodied fists and frowned, gently caressing the torn flesh.

Kimblee's eyes shifted to the paralyzed Sloth, "Hey Ling...look at his jacket...on his shoulder..." he motioned toward the fallen soldier and Ling complied.

He embedded another paralysis needle into the side of Sloth's neck and another one on his arm, just in case. He moved toward the right sleeve, but found nothing of suspicion or interest. However, when he moved to inspect the left side of the jacket...

His blood ran cold, "What the..." he fingered the red symbol sewn into the dark blue material of the Amestris military uniform.

Kimblee recognized the look in Ling's eyes, "You recognize...that symbol don't you?"

Ling's hands trembled ever so slightly, "...I've seen it in a few medical and alchemical books but...I've only heard myths about such things..." the words he whispered made his blood run cold, "...the symbol for immortality..."

Greed's eyes slowly opened.

* * *

Ed's voice rang loudly in the ears of his frightened subordinates, demanding obedience and concentration, "What the hell are you waiting for?! Gather the troops and head out already! One chopper won't be enough!" his teeth grinded harshly against one another, gold eyes narrowing at one soldier that approached him.

"But sir, won't twenty men be enough to apprehend the intruder? Surely we won't need to send any more men out-" the soldier was cut off by Edward's tight grip around his collar.

Gold eyes sent chills down his spine, "Listen up and listen well. The enemy my men are dealing with out there isn't something we've dealt with before. He has nearly destroyed a large portion of Fort Briggs inner defense and managed to immobilize Major General Greed, Head Medic Ling and _Kimblee_." He pulled the terrified man's face closer, "Tell me...do you still think that _twenty men_ are _enough_?" his look would have burned him alive.

"Y-Yes sir!" the soldier looked immensely relieved when Edward's grip loosened and the soldier was free to quickly flee his superior's wrath.

Edward sighed heavily, rubbing at the tense lines marking his forehead, "So unlike you to snap so harshly at a officer, Edward." Mustang's tone seemed playful but his expression was anything but, "Well, I understand your predicament."

Edward turned around, "How can you _not_? My men are out there _injured_ , in a terrain they aren't used to fight in and I can't get Alex on the line! Something's wrong Mustang! Someone must be sabotaging the communication network! Or the enemy sent out their allies!" Ed pulled at his hair, growling.

Roy frowned, rubbing his chin, "Well...aside from that, we may have to face another problem?"

Ed turned around, eyes blinking and utterly strained, "What? What problem?!"

Roy didn't know how to break it to him in the easiest way...

* * *

"Absolutely not!" Riza's voice was loud and clear, echoing within the privacy of her locked office.

Lena slammed her hands against Riza's table, eyes sharp and tone even sharper, "Absolutely _yes_! I'm going and you can't stop me!"

Riza exploded, "You can't head out and just join a warzone like that! There are files to be organized, forms to be filled and training to be accomplished! You can't decide to join the military just because you're worried for Greed and the others Lena!" Riza's gaze was firmly set on her friend.

Lena however was undeterred, "Tch, watch me sharpshooter!" Lena was about to turn around before Riza stopped her with a firm grip on her forearm. Lena's gaze met Riza's hawk eyes.

"Listen...I understand your concern more than anyone, but we can't allow possible casualties to happen while Roy is making up a strategy on how to get them out of there. You know Greed better than anyone else, he wouldn't die for naught, Ling is with him and Kimblee as well so I don't think that's something we need to concern ourselves over," Riza's gaze softened, her grip lessening as Lena's arm fell back to her side.

Lena sighed, slumping down in the chair, her voice was quiet but sure as she spoke, "Riza...I can't just sit here all the time and do nothing while Greed and the others are out there risking the possibility to get killed every day! You know I'm not one to just sit and wait until things are being done! I can fight! I can use a rifle or a sword too! Who do you think can kick the other's ass in our relationship? I'll give you a hint, it sure as hell ain't Greed," she crossed her arms and scoffed, feeling silly being annoyed by her boyfriend who wasn't even here to tease her.

Riza sighed, shaking her head at the small joke before turning serious again, "Trust me, I know how you feel, but for the moment, as difficult as it may sound, there isn't anything we can do except wait and hope for a good outcome. I've informed Bradley of the situation, backup is on their way to the base as we speak and Roy sent out his own troops to aid them against the enemy," Riza's eyes narrowed when she noticed the subtle stiffening of Lena's shoulders and the clench in her jaw.

"May I ask you something?" Riza rose an eyebrow in suspicion.

Lena looked her dead in the eye, confused, " 'Course, shoot sharpshooter,"

"...Have you heard of the soldier named 'Sloth'?" the question hung heavy in the air, weightening down on Lena like a invisible fist slowly coiling around her lungs until the need to breathe became too much to bear.

Lena frowned, eyes dark and long gone, "...I don't suppose I can really hide it anymore," Riza sat back down on her chair, waiting patiently, "You know of Greed's past right? When he fled from his friends after he met me and all," Riza nodded slowly, "Well...these so called "friends" of his...it wasn't the thing that they were criminals and bad news...it was how Greed was like when we first met,"

Lena balled her fists, "Back then, he wouldn't have hesitated to strike anyone down standing in his path, regardless of who they were. Except women, Greed didn't like fighting women even then," she rolled her eyes before sighing, "Greed told me how they planned some raids together, bank robberies, gang fights, the usual. But..." Lena frowned, "I haven't met any of them personally, because by then Greed was laying low for a while until they stopped searching for him and he always made sure I was as far from any potential danger as possible but...I think they weren't entirely normal," she met Riza's gaze.

The blonde frowned, "What do you mean by..."normal"?" her gut twisted uncomfortably.

"What Greed told me...they each had code names based on the seven deadly sins of humans; Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Sloth and Greed...aside from that, I just had this really weird feeling like they did more than just your usual bank robbery here and there, there was something off about them I couldn't shake off whenever I thought about that time. I guess I was right, with Sloth suddenly being in the military secretly..." her eyes widened, "Do...do you think they...that they're _all_ here? As part of the military?"

Riza's gaze hardened, "...It may be a possibility now that you've told me this. But once the troops have rescued Greed and the others, we will need to ask him that directly." Riza gave her friend a suspicious look, "Anything else I should know?"

The look on the blonde's face suddenly melted into surprise, "Wait a minute...you said they each adopted a name of the seven deadly sins...but that would mean...Greed's name _isn't_ really _Greed_?" Riza blinked, completely stunned by this new information.

The martial arts instructor grinned in embarrassment, scratching the back of her neck, "Uhh...y-yeah...kinda..."

Riza deadpanned comically, "What is it then?"

Lena grinned widely, "Well...Greed always made a big deal of hiding it because apparently he had _such a embarrassing_ name...if I told you now you would laugh so hard you'd cry," Lena sent her a sidelong grin, winking.

Riza leaned in, military strategies momentarily forgotten to find out about this particular interesting information, "Try me,"

Lena smirked.

* * *

While Ling was fussing over Greed's bleeding head injury, Greed suddenly felt a violent shiver race up and down his spine. Briefly, he wondered if Lena did something reckless again but threw the thought of the window. There couldn't possibly be something reckless she could do in Resembool where everything was quiet and peaceful...

His worry increased tenfold before he let out a hiss, "Well, you sure take care of your patients don't you?" he snapped at his younger twin.

Ling harshly slapped the bandage against Greed's skull, "Shut up! You made me worried sick and I won't forgive you for trying to act cool and fight that monster alone!" Greed mumbled something under his breath, but chose to still his tongue to evade igniting his brother's wrath. He still had to treat him after all..."Ouch! Stop hurting me damn it!"

"Stop sulking!" Ling growled, Greed rolled his eyes.

"Hey...did you feel that shiver too?" Ling rose an eyebrow at Greed's question.

"What shiver?" he blinked.

Greed scoffed, shaking his head, "Must have been my imagination..." he grimaced, seriously hoping Lena didn't do anything stupid. She was known to be a magnet for trouble...or was it him? He shrugged, maybe they were a trouble magnet duo or something like that.

Whatever the case, he would have to phone her as soon as he got back to base.

A loud crash suddenly sounded from afar but close enough to send Greed's skin prickling with the sense of danger and Ling's eyes widening at the prospect of _another_ enemy joining the battle field. Ling immediately took a protective stance in front of Greed and Kimblee, a rather large poisoned kunai emerging hidden under his sleeve and a gun aimed forward.

Ling wasn't a pushover in battle, but he had nowhere near the same the same level of skill in melee combat as did Greed or Ed, he _was_ an army doctor after all, not a soldier. However, being a doctor gave him the advantage of knowing his enemies pressure points and where to hit in order to numb his nerves and quickly defeat him, should it come down to that.

Greed struggled to right himself, reaching for his rifle, but Ling turned his head and sent him a sharp, penetrating gaze that even Greed didn't dare to disobey and face his twin's, admittedly, frightening wrath once he got all riled up.

Kimblee's ever watchful eyes watched the silent interaction between the brothers before moving in towards the spot where he could hear faint footsteps, _many_ of them, approaching from.

Ling's body tensed, muscles locking in place, legs bent to spring into attack at any time the moment he caught sight of his enemy.

A rush of gold and dark blue and Ling immediately dropped his weapons and jumped straight at the supposed attacker, who was in fact, his very own superior midget, "EDWARDDD!" the medic expert shouted, arms and legs locking around the struggling General as he nuzzled into Ed, tears of happiness comically streaming down his face.

"What the-?! Ling?! Greed? Kimblee!" Ed shouted in happiness and realization as he took in the state Greed and Kimblee were in, immediately the elated, softer voice of happiness morphed into one of anger and concern, a sharp edge coating his words with every breath he took, "Get the medical team here! Havoc, Breda you secure the area! Alex, Mustang!" almost immediately, Ling's very own medical team rushed passed Edward towards Greed and Kimblee, immediately stabilizing them and carefully placing them on a stretcher, securing them to ensure their balance and moving with quick efficiency toward the exit.

"Thanks," Ling clapped one of his subordinates on the back as they passed, nodding gratefully in their direction.

"Anytime, sir," the younger medic in training nodded back, flashing a quick, optimistic grin before helping bringing his friends away.

"Should we leave you alone Fullmetal?" Mustang smirked looking at Edward who still tried disentangling Ling from himself.

"Shut it!" Ed barked, finally dislodging the happy man away from him, "Ling! Snap out of it!" he lightly punched Ling upside the head, the medic just shook his head and grinned stupidly.

"Ah, I'm just glad you finally came Ed! Man, that had been close!" he wiped away a thin sheet of sweat gathered at his forehead, before his expression turned serious upon looking at the paralyzed body of Sloth.

"What is that?" Alex Louis Armstrong asked, baby blue eyes widening at the sight of the paralyzed man lying on the ground, a man larger than even himself.

Ed and Roy's attention quickly shifted to the man on the ground, Ed crouched down, inspecting the torn uniform, the large stature, small, round beady eyes and a peculiar mark on his neck...

Ed frowned when the man grit his teeth just barely so against the powerful effects of the drug, a warning at touching that particular spot.

"Ling...isn't that something from your medical books?" the medical expert crouched down next to Ed, gaze narrowing in recognition.

"I recognized it too...but you should as well, right Edward?" he pointedly looked at him but Ed brushed him off.

"Well?" it seemed like Edward didn't feel like mentioning anything from his past so Ling relented, "As far as I remember, I've seen it in some medical and...alchemical books before," he shared a brief look with Ed before continuing, "It's vague, but I remember the symbol of a serpent or dragon eating its own tail stands for birth and rebirth or-"

Ed cut him off quietly, "...immortality," Ed's expression grew grim.

He stood, dusting off his pants, he shared a knowing look with Roy, "Well, what should we do about him?" Roy motioned discreetly to talk in private, Ed nodded before walking away from Ling and the rest, behind a corner to have some more privacy.

"You've recognized it too haven't you?" Ed noticed the way Roy bit his lip in worry and his jaw clenched.

"Of course I have, after all, we've studied the same thing back in college," Roy gave a smirk, before shaking his head, "I'm suspicious of that man. Not just his appearance, but he wears our uniform, the rank of a mere soldier but I've never seen or heard of him before. I'll need to inform Riza of this and get some intel on the matter," his dark eyes narrowed, "Furthermore...why has he assaulted Greed and the others so viciously? What could he be after?"

Ed shifted his weight in unease, "Have you phoned General Armstrong?" to his relief, Roy nodded.

"She left before the attack with a large party of her men, perhaps that's why nobody came running after the confrontation here," he gave the destruction a brief once over, "This would have alerted an entire army,"

Ed sighed, "Greed said he had been after Olivier...but for what? One of our own men?" he rubbed his chin in thought, feeling the fine hairs of a growing stubble tickling his fingers.

"Greed said his name was 'Sloth', obviously a code name, and that his physical prowess even surpasses that of the Armstrongs," Roy looked down at Ed, "Edward...do you think Greed is keeping valuable information from us?"

Ed's temper flared, aghast at _Mustang_ , of all people accusing _his_ men of possible treason, "Do you know who you're talking about Mustang? Greed wouldn't keep anything of value from us," he matched Roy's stare with a sharp glare of his own.

Roy sighed in defeat, feeling the day's wearing him down, "Talk to him after he recovers, Edward,"

Ed was about to open his mouth and protest, but suddenly, he himself thought about it. It was Greed that told them about Sloth in the first place, unless the soldier stated his name, which they thought unlikely, how did Greed know his name – or at least codename – was Sloth?

"...Yes, sir," Roy frowned, hearing the uncertainty in his voice.

"I trust Greed as much as you do, but I suspect the information he is keeping from us has something to do with him on a more...personal level. I would be direct if I were you, you know how Greed can get," with that, Roy turned his back on him and joined up with his Havoc and Breda to ask if they found anything of importance.

Ed was left standing there, a mass of insecurity and deep friendship he shared with Greed and the rest of his team. Greed was an honest man through and through, that had become quickly clear in the beginning, he valued honesty highly.

" _But...would he keep something from us? What was his relationship with Sloth anyway? Was Sloth after him too?"_ the image of Greed's bleeding head appeared in front of his mind's eye and Ed shook his head.

In time, he would find out, his gut twisted uncomfortably when he saw the paralyzed body of Sloth being carried outside. He caught the soldier's eye and he swore, it flashed red.

* * *

 **Phew...so** little ol' Greed's hiding something huh? What do you guys think it is? Is it ONLY his allegiance to Sloth and the other "Homunculi" or is there more? See you in the next chapter! Reviews are always very appreciated!


	14. Operation initiated

**Hello I'm back! :3** As I've said before, exams are piling up and my thesis is suffocating me to no end but I couldn't resist writing to vent off. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! :)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Emma:** Hmmm...we will see ;) haha

 **QuinzMoon:** Hi there! I'm fine thank you, yourself? Ah, don't worry about that, no problem ;) Haha thank you, though I admit I can write better fight scenes but I felt it was too rushed so I'll try and flesh them out more as the story goes. :) *_* Thank you SO MUCH! ^^ I'm really happy that you like my story and how it progresses! Roy mentioned studying the same thing back in college, he referred to the moment where Ed identified the Ourobous symbol as a sign for immortality. Which means, unless he was a medic like Ling or knowledgeable about alchemy...hihi I'll clarify that more in the next chapter! Thank you so, so much! You take care too and have a AWESOME day! :3

 **Ice Dragon Alchemist:** *_* Thank you so much! I'm really happy that you like my story so far! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve it please feel free to write them up! :)

 **Pouda-P:** Thank you ^,^ Well I tried but I can certainly do better! ;) haha That's okay really, not a problem :) I know! ^^ I really like Denny for some reason and I was disappointed he didn't have more screen time...or that there aren't really many fics about him T_T

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Operation initiated**

Riza couldn't help, despite everything happening at the moment, to burst out into barely suppressed giggles covered by her hand, a Cheshire grin settled permanently on Lena's face.

"Really? _That's_ his name? I had no idea, I d-don't think Roy or anyone else knows e-either," Riza slowly recovered from her laughing fit, shaking her head.

Lena snickered, "Yeah well...you would think he would have come up with a more original code name right? Or rather that his parents would have come up with something more original...I mean Ling is a typical Xingese name but Greed's...aw hell...I bet he was bullied in high school," she joked, all grins and smiles.

Riza chuckled, "So...I have permission to report this to Roy?" she rose an eyebrow, mischief twinkling in her hazel eyes. Lena grinned.

"Permission granted," Lena laughed when Riza shook her head in disbelief.

"Honestly...if he hadn't adopted that particular code name well...I can still see the reason for that namesake but had his parents known beforehand what he would be like?" Riza's question caused Lena to simply shrug, not quite knowing the answer herself.

She tapped a finger on her chin, thinking, "I remember the first time we met, he introduced himself as "Greed" but then after a while of dating he just randomly told me his _real_ name while we were watching a movie and I was drinking water...you can only guess where the water went after that..." she rolled her eyes.

Riza giggled, "You call him "Greed" all the time despite knowing his real name," she tilted her head in curiosity.

"I've been strictly forbidden to utter his real name in the presence of others...except if we're talking through safe communication lines or when he used to be here and we were alone. Ling still subtly teases him for his choice in code name..." Lena grinned, shaking her head.

And suddenly the phone rang.

Both women stared at the phone, Riza immediately picking it up after the second ring. Lena's blood ran cold at Riza's frown and the thin line her lips formed the longer she listened to whoever just called.

"Understood," her voice was the norm, professional, serious. Lena felt nervousness seep into her body, her legs shifted restlessly, her fingers running small circles over the fabric of her jeans and her teeth biting the soft flesh of her lips as she anxiously awaited to hear what Riza had to say.

What felt like a lifetime, Riza finally hung up, locking eyes with Lena, "Roy just called, he said they are heading back to the main base now and that they retrieved Greed and the rest," Riza paused for a brief moment, "...Kimblee suffered a moderate injury in the area of his abdomen, Ling remained unscathed but Greed had sustained several injuries as well." Lena fought hard to not freak out.

"...How bad?" she was glad her voice didn't crack, after all, it wouldn't be the first time Greed would get injured, but she knew he had dealt with _Sloth_ and as little as she knew about him, he must have been to that degree dangerous that Greed did anything humanly possible to keep her away from him and the rest of his gang.

Riza's gaze hardened, "Several fractured ribs, a moderate head injury, superficial wounds on his torso and no internal bleeding or skull fracture," Lena sighed in relief and worry, while his injuries didn't seem that bad, she still worried for him, they still had to return safely to base after all.

Wait...

"T-that's it?" Lena blinked, astounded.

Riza's eyes widened slightly, "...Pardon?"

"I m-mean...please don't get me wrong but...Greed only sustained these injuries? He had a fight with _Sloth_! Shouldn't he have been injured far more than this? From what I've caught on several years back, Sloth had been very fast and a brutal fighter, with a great physical prowess. Greed is an expert in hand-to-hand combat but still..." Lena frowned.

Riza seemed thoughtful, "Now that you're mentioning it...perhaps you're right," her eyebrows furrowed, worry lines forming on otherwise smooth skin as she thought.

Lena scratched at the back of her neck nervously, "Perhaps that's um...well some people are more resilient or simply recover faster right?" Riza's gaze met hers and she nodded absentmindedly.

"I suppose..." her gaze moved over to the map, pinpointing the location of the main base at the border, "Greed may not be able to call you today, however I think tomorrow in the afternoon he will be well enough to," she offered Lena a reassuring smile and the younger woman nodded, eyes holding a type of sadness and relief Riza knew all too well.

Riza had the feeling like more questions rather than answers are coming up, her gaze swept over to the map yet again.

Central's location was marked with a red flag.

It meant preparing for war.

* * *

He felt the air enter and leave his lungs as he breathed deeply through his mouth, muscles contracting and relaxing with every calm breath. His eyes opened and he let his muscles settle into the rhythm of swordplay, parrying against an invisible attacker, defending against a invisible sword slash to his right flank and stabbing cleanly through the middle, plunging his sword's deadly blade into the formless abdomen of his would-be attacker.

With a circular swing of his double edged practice sword marked the end for his sword training for today, he wiped the sheen of sweat on his forehead, lifting the hem of his shirt up to collect the sweat beading at his forehead, hairline and at the sides of his neck, exposing a miniscule part shining like silver among the hard ridges of muscle lining his abdomen. The glint disappeared with the downward fall of his shirt and Ed heaved a heavy sigh into the air, driving the sword tip into the earth so the sword stood on its own while Ed stretched his pulsing, warmed up muscles, arms stretching over his head, legs stretching one by one, one sounding with a soft ' _pop'_ while the other creaked like a part of a machine. He paid the sound no heed, after all, he was used to it by now.

Ed stood there at the entrance to the tent, looking out at the starry sky in thoughtful silence after his mind and body calmed down from the workout he just had.

"Kid?" Greed sleepily emerged from their tent behind Edward, stretching languidly and yawning, blinking up at the dark sky, "Whatcha doing out here? Bedtime isn't over yet," Greed's eyes zeroed in on his superior's thoughtful expression, so he opted to get him out of it.

With a punch to the back of his head, "Ouch!" Ed nearly fell forward, catching himself just in time to whirl around and glare at Greed, who had his arms crossed and was gazing at him rather calmly.

Ed scoffed, rubbing at the back of his neck, "What's the big idea?! Can't I just have my peace?", he growled in irritation.

Greed scoffed, "Tch, you're too young to be saying that shit. Now spill, how comes you're out here looking like one of those girls in romance novels thinking about their boyfriends?" he rose an eyebrow in question, waiting.

Ed ignored the comment and turned back around, gold eyes reflecting the shining stars above, "...I'm scared..." the low confession stunned Greed, making him freeze in his spot, violet eyes the size of saucers as he registered the words.

"... _I'm scared..."_ Greed shook his head, the lowly muttered words still echoing in his head even after Ed began speaking again.

"Today, we've suffered and been surprised by an enemy we have no knowledge of even existing. He's supposedly from our own ranks, we can't find him anywhere in the database and yet...that unknown enemy managed to overpower you, Kimblee _and_ Ling." Greed watched as Ed's arm shook in anger. A frown marred Greed's features, the bandage on his cheek moving with the movement of his muscles.

Greed sighed heavy and long, collecting his thoughts and the words he would say, "Hey...cut me some slack...the prince took a nap even before the fight began, I was knocked out by stupid flying rocks...we could have taken him if we all had a go at him at the same time," Greed really wondered if the outcome would have been different had unfortunate circumstances not been, but not even he could answer that himself, "Kimblee will pull through, Ling's fine and I'm fine too. Why are you busting your head over this Cap?" he tilted his head, being often teased by Lena for behaving like a confused dog when doing that.

Ed clenched his teeth tightly together, feeling brief pain upon grinding them harshly against each-other in a futile attempt to quench the growl of frustration bubbling on the tip of his tongue, " _Because_ , he won't stay down for long Greed. We don't have the power to imprison him, you told me may be composed like a human but he _isn't_ one, at least not a normal one. With his enhanced abilities, he's no match for my men. He'll return to whoever is giving him orders and report of you being alive, of our location here..." Ed sighed, a shiver passing through him but he shook it off, "...If they were clever enough to not be detected by our own military then...maybe they even know about everyone waiting for us back home...our friends and family..." Ed's voice turned sad and quiet at the end.

Greed tensed, eyes narrowing and lips thin set into a thrown, "...Stop talking shit will you?" Greed moved toward the front, grabbing onto Ed's broad shoulders tightly, staring him straight in the eye, "What happened today was a stupid drawback, I know, but it won't happen again. You're our superior damn it, you didn't get the position of Lieutenant General for being a runt." He sighed, "Listen, if you mention any of this to anyone I'll kill you in your sleep," Ed blinked and slowly nodded.

"I'm scared too, alright kid? But that doesn't mean I won't stay here, get my ass whooped and fight. Unlike the airheads here thinking they are fighting for "our country" and "defending its glory" I only protect the things _in_ this country, my most prized possessions. Lena, the idiots I call friends sometimes, all my war buddies here too. Every single one of them. As long as I'm still breathing and not coughing out a lung, I'll continue to serve under you and wipe the floor with Drachma. Even if I'm complaining like a drama queen, you've been the best superior a guy like me can wish for." Greed grinned softly.

There was a moment of silence until Ed spoke, disturbed with a twitching eye, "...Did you just call me a _possession_?"

A well aimed punch to the head, " _Ouch!_ " Ed pathetically rubbed at his head, glaring daggers at the taller male.

"I'm pouring my god damn heart out over here and all you can think about is me calling you a possession?! Seriously, how did you pass high school?! Screw that, how did you even _get_ here?!" Greed shook his head, teeth bared at Ed's laughing expression, hands finding purchase on his bent knees as he laughed softly.

"Whatcha laughing for now-?!" Ed cut off Greed's would-be-rant, "Thanks Greed," the Lieutenant General's smile was soft and grateful, a sight uncharacteristic for anyone who didn't know him on a personal level.

Greed rolled his eyes, muttering gruffly, "Yeah, yeah whatever," he crossed his arms stubbornly, a irritated pout on his lips.

Ed nodded toward the tent, "Go inside and get some rest, what did Ling tell you? You need bed rest," Ed pushed at Greed's bandaged back toward the direction of the tent.

"Alright, alright, I'm going. Sheesh, stop being so loud or Ling will hear you and bust my head for walking around," Greed waved with his back turned to Ed, broad back disappearing behind the dark green flap of the tent.

Ed shook his head, sighing heavily and lifting his head up to look at the sky.

"Hm..." he hummed thoughtfully, his hands in his pockets, the dog tag sitting idly on his chest shone in the soft moonlight.

Ed gripped the dog tag, almost like a ritual done before praying, but Ed didn't pray. Many soldiers, no, many _people_ , when faced with insurmountable tasks and situations, often called out to the deity in desperation and need, as if that could have improved or changed their situations.

Edward himself wasn't religious, but he did believe in something. In his own strength, in his friends, his brother, in people...those were all things Ed believed in and he wouldn't change his mind any time soon.

It was true he saw people do many atrocious things in his time spent here as a soldier, he saw comrades betraying one another in the most brutal way possible, a superior shooting one of his own men dead, officers fighting for the top and sabotaging each-other until one of them ended up in the hospital wing.

He had seen all those things and worse and he could still say he believed in humanity, because that was all that really remained if one stripped them all of their ranks, badges, medals, uniforms, titles...everything...all that really remained then was a mass of flesh, bone and blood, they were all the same yet so very different.

That difference drove Ed to believe, because it was that difference that could change the outcome of a battle. Ed gripped the dog tag firmly in his hand before letting it go, it bounced once off his chest before settling back on its former resting place.

The other side was turned up this time, marked with a date and an inscription.

Before he turned around to walk inside his tent he shared with his team and gain some sleep, the moonlight caught the silvery surface of his dog tag and illuminated the words.

 _'_ _Don't forget 3. October'_

* * *

"So, you're working with Second Lieutenant Maria Ross?" Winry smiled, enjoying her small ice cream cone while leisurely walking with the tall man beside her.

She learned quickly that Denny Brosh was quite shy but very kind and attentive, just shy with women overall but not bad. He was a gentleman through and through and quite funny too, but he just wasn't quite her type. She had a soft spot for tall, broad shouldered, intelligent and funny men but Denny struck her as more of a big brother type than anything else.

If he perhaps had golden eyes and gold hair then maybe-

Winry's eyes widened and the ice cream she just wanted to swallow nearly ended up sliding down the wrong path, she coughed heavily, pounding a fist to her chest to ease the coughing fit. If she had been interested in Denny, it may have been embarrassing for her, but she laughed it off as did Denny.

"Uh, a-are you alright Winry?" he placed a warm hand on her back, patting gently to help ease her coughing.

Winry shook her head vigorously, face pink, "Uh, yeah, yes I'm fine thank you Denny. I uh, I just thought of something...um...w-well, it's not important," she quickly decided to change the topic, "A-anyway, you were saying?" she grinned, mentally berating herself for even _thinking_ of gold eyes and gold hair and soldiers and letters and this and that.

Denny rose an eyebrow but let it slide, smiling brightly inside, a twinkle in his eyes, "Right! Well, you see, I met Ross when I first joined the academy to become a soldier. We'd both been mere recruits back then, pretty young and we had a lot to learn then too." He laughed, a fond look crossing his features, "She had always been better than me in anything really, she had better aim, she could handle stressful situations far better than me and take control of it without being a nervous mess like me," he laughed, scratching at the back of his neck.

Winry noticed a small smile morphing on his lips, "But I guess that's how we always worked. She would calm me down whenever I'm panicking and I would watch her back whenever we are on missions. It's always been like that, that it feels weird whenever we aren't partnered together," he smiled down at Winry, "Funny huh? I've always been looked down on because of my hyperactive and nervous attitude but Ross didn't mind, in fact, we often goof around when no one's watching, when it's just her and me and I cherish these moments the most because then I can finally see the real her through all her professionalism in uniform," Denny's soft look oddly reminded Winry of Roy's whenever he would look at Riza and she wouldn't be watching. Roy always looked at Riza like that, at least for as long as Winry knew them.

Winry's own smile turned soft and understanding, "Must be really nice having someone like that by your side..." she grinned at him softly, "Well? What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Maria right now?"

Denny stopped walking and blinked rapidly at Winry, before realizing his mistake, flailing with his arms nervously, "A-ah, I'm s-s-so sorry Winry! I'm so sorry! I hadn't meant to talk about Ross all the time, it's just I-I-well I got caught up and- and-" she caught him off guard with a giggle and a playful wink.

"Hey, I think we both didn't really want this date right? It's been really fun Denny but I can see that you and Ross have something going don't you?" she winked and playfully waved with her pointy finger left to right, causing Denny's face to take on a interesting red color.

"W-what?! R-Ross and me!? W-well I-I-I-I-" he was a stuttering nervous wreck and Winry laughed.

"It's alright Denny, seriously I understand," Winry smiled encouragingly and nodded, "Now go,"

Denny paused for a moment, considering, "But I can't just leave you like this, at least let me accompany you home," he seemed insistent, a smile on his face.

Winry would have argued that she was a grown woman and capable of protecting herself, her wrench stored in her purse was proof of that, but she deemed it as untimely if she mentioned the wrench now, "Well...alright, thank you," she smiled brightly.

Denny grinned, scratching at the back of his neck and gesturing for them to continue walking. During their walk home to Winry's house, which was about an hour away, Denny suddenly asked something that caught Winry off guard, "So...I've heard that you have signed up for the "Letters to soldiers" program?"

Winry's blue bell eyes blinked, "Uh...y-yes. Does word spread around so fast huh?" she wondered if gossip spread as rapidly as a forest fire as it did in Resembool, apparently it did.

Denny smiled, "You can say that, the military's something like a strict high school. Once break starts, everyone talks about everyone and everyone likes to be informed of the latest news. I've heard from Ross and she heard it from General Hawkeye-err Mustang," Winry clenched her fist, mentally imagining how she could scare the fearless Hawk's Eye into a cowering form with just her wrench from hell alone.

" _Of course it was Riza!"_ Winry thought with no small amount of exasperation, in truth, she wasn't really angry at Riza, but rather at the meddling of her friends in setting her up with the strangest of men.

Last year, they tried setting her up with a banker, _a banker_ , and well...the date hadn't ended very well. It ended with a wrench to the face of said banker and her quitting her bank account at said bankers work place...not to mention Den biting the idiot in the leg for attempting to "prolong" the date.

Winry also learned that going on a date with another fellow mechanic, while they had many conversation topics, had been nothing less than tiring. They nearly liked the same things, knew everything about each-others work and honestly, it had bored Winry a bit. However, at the end, the date ended in a furious jealousy-fueled bet on whose mechanic shop was more popular.

That had been the only time Winry openly showed her pride about being superior in anything, smugly wiping the floor with the mechanic fool that thought he could satisfy his customers with his second-rate tools.

Winry herself didn't always use high quality metal, as it was too expensive, but the details and time she invested in her work was always well known and her works tended to be very durable and rumored to last a pretty long time until the need for maintenance called their owners back to Winry's shop.

Winry grinned in embarrassment, "Well, what do you know..." internally, she was planning on stealthily killing Riza in her sleep, maybe with poison it could work...maybe she could put some in her tea...

Denny smiled at her, continuing their peaceful walk back home.

"Anyway, do you know the soldier you're writing to?" Denny asked conversationally, giving her a sidelong glance.

Winry bit her lip, smiling as snippets of words and letters flowed through her mind, "Yeah I do...um, I don't know if you heard of him but his name is Edward-"

Denny's eyes suddenly lightened up like Christmas lights and he suddenly, in a impulsive reaction, gently but firmly gripped her shoulders, nearly shaking her in his excitement, "Edward Elric?! You're writing to Edward Elric?! No way! I adore that man! He's the best on the field!" Winry's head was spinning as Denny slowly stopped shaking her, stepping back in embarrassment, "O-oh! Sorry!" he blushed.

Winry waved her hand, signaling it was alright-ish... "...I assume you heard of him?" she most definitely did assume that.

Denny looked bashful but still excited, " _Heard_ of him?! I even talked to him! Well...once, I guess. It had been on my first day as a new recruit a few years back. I'm older than him of course, but back then he had been the rank of a First Lieutenant if I remember correctly. He was really nice and funny! He helped me train a bit before my final testing round and once I got officially accepted into the academy, he paid me a drink when him and the rest of the officers went to the bar. It had been a bit weird for outsiders though, he was still pretty young back then and I had been in my early twenties."

Denny laughed it off, fondly remembering those brief times. Winry smiled, while she didn't know a lot about war and the military in general, she did know a thing or two about camaraderie and friendship, "It must have been nice...getting to know someone so unusual and unique right?"

Denny smiled but the smile soon faded, eyes darkening in memory, "Yes but...that had been the last time I saw him..." Winry's eyes widened slightly, "Drachma officially declared war against Amestris and so any and all soldiers were sent to the battle front. General Mustang was sent with his team and Edward was sent with his. I've heard of him here and there, mostly through secondary sources," he sighed, "I don't know him, on a personal level, but before all of this happened, the war and the country being turned into a battle zone...he had been a pretty nice guy. Short tempered, a bit hot headed but his heart was in the right place for someone so young. However...the horrors of combat can deprive one of their human emotions...and I think that's what happens to everyone who don the uniform sooner or later," Winry fell silent beside him and Denny almost didn't notice.

"A-ah I did it again! I'm so sorry Winry! I didn't mean to make you sad because of my talk! Ross tends to scold me for talking too much!" Denny bowed his head repeatedly, grabbing Winry's hand and muttering apologies at a rapid pace.

Winry quickly snapped out of her trance-like state to calm the older man down, "Oh no, no, it's alright really! Trust me, it's really alright!" Winry lifted her hands up in a peaceful manner and Denny finally calmed down, grinning nervously.

"I'm sorry about that, guess I really do talk too much huh?"

Winry smiled and shook her head, "That's okay, I do that too," he smiled down at her, sighing.

"Well, here we are," Winry stopped and Denny realized they already reached her house, a beautiful yet simple piece of work, with a veranda and a large garage next to it.

Winry smiled, "Thank you for escorting me home, you really didn't have to,"

Denny couldn't help but smile back, "It was no trouble really. I-I'm sorry if it didn't really go as planned..." he scratched at his head, nervousness rolling off him in waves.

Winry winked, "Hey, not like we agreed to this fully right? Besides, you've got Maria by your side and I..." Winry paused for a brief second before grinning nervously, "Right, well, I guess we will see each-other sometime when I visit Riza at the office. Good night Denny!"

Denny nodded and grinned back, "Will do, good night Winry,"

Once the tall male walked away, Winry walked inside her house, locking the door behind her and being greeted by Den with a affectionate lick and nuzzle to her hand. Winry smiled and gently petted his head.

 _"_ _However...the horrors of combat can deprive one of their human emotions...and I think that's what happens to everyone who don the uniform sooner or later,"_ Denny's words echoed in her mind, creating conflicting emotions within her that felt like a war of its own.

" _Edward..."_ Winry absentmindedly scratched behind Den's ear, worry spreading through her as she thought about her pen friend.

She really hoped he was alright and that nothing bad happened.

She still felt uneasy even as she turned off all the lights and slipped beneath the soft covers of her bed, Denny's words and Edward's letters still on her mind.

* * *

"Has Sloth successfully managed to track Greed down?" the tall figure covered by darkness asked from its position at the high chair at the large oak desk, hands clasped together.

A feminine hand rested on a shapely hip, accentuated by the State Military uniform she was wearing, dark ebony locks reaching well passed her shoulders as the tresses shook softly with the movement of the woman's head, "We expect so, yes. He most likely engaged him in battle and the fool let himself be captured. It's only a matter of time before Sloth escapes and reports back to us,"

"Have you found anything about Greed's current life?"

A toothy smile stretched over red painted lips, "I think you will find this very satisfying... _General_ ,"

She threw a file on his desk, a small picture slipping from beneath the papers within out onto the desk, his eyes narrowed down at the picture.

"Ah yes...I've seen this nice young lady before..." slowly, he lifted the picture of the young woman to his face, a dark grin showing behind the curtains of shadows.

"Lena was it..." he chuckled darkly.

"My sources reported that she was his lover or wife from the frequency of their calls and their relationship discovered thus far," the woman smiled, "She means a lot to him," her grin was anything but friendly.

"Excellent," another dark chuckle.

Her eyes flashed in murderous delight, "Initiate the next operation?" her voice was like liquid honey, smooth and melodious, but the malicious undertone was unmistakable.

A single red eye flashed from the darkness, lips stretching over a wide, dark grin, "Yes,"

The picture of Lena remained resting on the desk, swallowed by the tendrils of darkness.

 **...Oh damn I have to stop watching such movies...ahem I really hope you enjoyed it! :) Opinions? Good? Bad? Any ideas to improve the story? Let me hear it! :3**


	15. The Good Soldier

Hey everyone I'm already back! Quite a surprise really, I've been fretting over my thesis for the past few weeks that I thought I would NEVER finish in time but...behold 15 pages and everything else finished, bound and handed in! ^_^ I'm so very happy that I finally handed in my thesis on Wednesday! I can't resist writing my stories either, especially this one since it's still growing and at the beginning point of its story line :3

I hope everyone reading this story enjoyed the last chapter with a bit of angst, a bit of mystery and a few emotional scenes. :) **Should I include more descriptive battles and fights?**

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Lily:** Yeah that too BUT I meant who was she talking to ^^

 **QuinzMoon:** Aw really? Thank you that means a lot to me as a writer! :3 I tried keeping Ed in character but at the same time making him seem a bit more "battle hardened" since he _is_ older in this story and more involved with the military. Well...if Lust is comfortable enough to talk to him...I don't know ;) hahaha Thank you that's so sweet! Gracie! :D I'm happy when my readers scream of happiness at my stories hehe Take care too!

 **Emma:** Hihi, I've left a little clue somewhere at the end of the chapter where Lena and Greed have their conversation! ;) His real name will be revealed in the next chapter!

 **Pfeh:** (blushes in embarrassment) Ah, thank you so, so much! :3 I'm happy that you like it :) haha Yeah, I'll have the roles reversed a bit, make Ed the more "mature" one where he _may_ realize it quicker than Winry or even admit it :P Who knows? ;)

 **Enjoy! :D**

* * *

 **The Good Soldier**

"I'm not a traitor, if that's what you think," Greed's head was bowed, violet eyes staring down at his bandaged feet as he felt Ed's gaze bore into him.

"How do you explain Sloth? How did you even know his name or who he was and what he was capable of? Why was he after Olivier and you?" Ed's voice was calm but Greed wasn't a fool, he felt the air buzzing with tenseness and an anger bubbling just beneath his superior's surface if he didn't get the answers he so desperately wanted.

Greed sighed heavily, lifting his head to lock eyes with Edward, "Look...this all happened in the past alright? I didn't think they would even come after me anymore after all this time-"

"They?" Ed's eyes narrowed, gold eyes looking stricter than even the first time Greed was appointed to work under him.

Greed hissed, gaze averting to the side, "Yeah... _they._ Six of 'em to be exact," he felt shame stinging him deeply.

Ed sighed, looking down at the ground, "...Was it that gang you mentioned? The one you left after you met Lena and everyone?" his gaze softened, understanding the troubled past of his friend and comrade.

Greed sighed heavily, "Yes," with difficulty, he managed to once again look Edward in the eyes, "Lust, Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Wrath and Sloth," a wry smile spread over his face, jaw set tightly, "They were trouble and I knew it, but I joined anyway, I was the third one to join them. Lusty was second and that Pride brat was first. The rest followed later on." Greed looked like he was thinking, "I remember, a few weeks before I defected, that they had been planning something big," he locked eyes with Ed, "...it seemed far more daring than anything we ever did and that's saying something,"

Ed remained silent for a moment, before he scanned Greed's tense features, seeing true remorse, "...What do you think did they have planned? Were you involved in it?"

Greed grit his teeth, hands tightening into fists, "No...they must have suspected I would leave them sooner or later, so they kept me out of anything related to it. I've caught bits and pieces of it, but I still don't know when or where they will execute it. Nor do I know the exact details,"

Ed smirked, "That's enough for me right now," Greed blinked once in astonishment before he slowly began talking.

"They said they would rule the world, heh, honestly it sounded like something I would say," Ed fixed him with a small glare, Greed relented, "...Not that I ever thought of ruling over the world or anything," he coughed into his hand, "Anyway, they said they would need many...sacrifices for it to work," he winced at the word "sacrifices".

A tingling sensation overcame Ed suddenly and he looked down at his hand, pushing back the sleeve of his uniform to see the hairs on his arm stood on end. Ed locked his jaw tightly, thinking deeply. Ruling over the world...many sacrifices...

"Were you a cult or something? Following rituals or beliefs or something like that?" Ed's rapid questions made Greed click his tongue in distaste.

"Do I look like a voodoo priest to you? Hell no, nothing like that. I would call them anything but religious." He scoffed, crossing his arms, "But..." Ed perked up, "...I caught on to something before Sloth passed out...he said that..." Greed looked very uncomfortable, a rare sight for Edward to witness, "...there may be a chance that they're here,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, suddenly alarmed, "Here?"

Greed nodded, voice lowering into a whisper, "In the military. In our own ranks,"

Ed's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking microscopically as he tried making sense of the information he just gathered. Greed had suspicions his old, dangerous gang may be involved with the military and he himself had seen the insignia on Sloth, one of the State Military and the other...

Ed sprung up, if Greed were a man easily surprised, he would have been startled by the sudden action, "Wait! Immortality! How are you guys linked to that?" Greed's eyes widened and he rubbed uncomfortably at the back of his neck.

Greed sighed and slowly stood, wincing at the strain it put on his wounds, "...Immortality was always a big deal to them, they kept talking about ways of becoming immortal, kept playing with the idea. I thought of them as nothing but psychopaths after that, but they made getting money easier...Pride was the worst of them all, he kept blabbering about being the "chosen" or "favorite" or whatever and pursuing his goal of finding an elixir or something for immortality,"

Ed's eyes widened, "Elixir? What elixir? What did he say?" memories of old tattered pages and formulas filled Ed's mind at the mention of an "elixir".

Greed rose an eyebrow, looking confused, "Look, I know you studied alchemy but no need getting so worked up about it. He said something of an elixir, but I can't remember what he called it,"

Ed froze, finally finding the memory he was looking for, "The Elixir of Life..." Greed quietly observed as recognition fell on Ed's face, "The Philosopher's Stone..."

"Here now and I thought those were myths," Greed mocked lightly, finding Edward's behavior strange.

Ed looked at him, despite Greed's attempts at lightening the mood his face was serious, "Alchemists have tried attaining the Philosopher's Stone for centuries, nobody knew if it actually existed but there were several records of its supposed existence. Whether or not those are false is very vague but... according to history and alchemy books, alchemists defined the Stone as intangible, it could take on any shape or form but they all have the same abilities. They grant the owner of the Stone immortal life, a rapid healing factor and abilities far above a human's comprehension," Ed rubbed his chin, gaze hard, "What could they possibly want with it...they're no alchemists are they?" His gaze moved to Greed.

He resolutely shook his head, "No,"

Ed growled, "I don't understand, it doesn't make sense. None of it."

" _What could they possibly use something like this? It's just a myth, apparently anyway, and what does the Stone of Life have anything to do with many sacrifices?"_ Ed's train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of Hughes, who smiled and saluted them both.

"Hughes, what's up?" the older man smirked, eyes flickering back and forth between Greed and Edward.

"Well, well, well Roy sent me here to see if you slaughtered good ol' Greed yet...apparently I came too soon," Greed growled at him, Hughes brushed it off with a smile, "Anyway, report back to Roy after you're done here," he looked toward Greed pointedly before disappearing again.

Greed groaned, " _Great_...not only will I get grilled by _two_ of my superiors but Lena will grill me later too!" he shook his head dramatically and Ed sighed, feeling some of the tension leaving his stiff shoulders.

"...So...am I pardoned?" Greed looked at Ed, a unsure look in his eyes, waiting in suspense. It was no small crime keeping such important information like that from his superiors when it could involve in any shape or form the military or their operations. Usually, cases such as these were regulated in the court and the worst sentence Greed could get was either permanent suspension from the military or a very long sentence in prison.

Edward turned his back on him, Greed's worry spiked, wondering if he should've just told him that since the beginning and not worry about his past so much...

Ed turned, a small smile on his face, "I'm thinking about it," he grinned suddenly and winked, "You may be older than me, but I'm still your superior, now go and meet Mustang. It's _him_ you need to worry about," Ed's grin was far too wide.

While Greed's fear instantly left him when he realized Ed would never consider sending him to court, much less prison, the thought of Mustang's possible ass beating made him...cautious.

"Right..." Greed muttered, mentally preparing himself for the earful he would get, "Thanks...sir," Greed was never ashamed to address Ed by his rank, as custom dictated but...

"Greed," Ed's firm voice caused the wounded man to stop at the exit of the tent. Greed looked at him quizzically, "Yeah?"

Ed turned his head just so he locked eyes with Greed, " 'Sir' makes me feel old," he flashed him a grin.

Greed barked out a laugh, waving his hand, "Tch, just wait till ya reach my age, then we will talk... _runt_ ," Greed grinned toothily before leaving the tent.

Ed sighed, burying his hands in his pockets, "Well...I guess that's better than 'sir'..." he shook his head, gold eyes trailing over telegrams, issue orders, maps and-

Ed's eyes widened.

Winry's letter...

Carefully, he pushed aside the other documents, gingerly grabbing the white envelope, on its front, in neat cursive handwriting, was written Winry's name and surname.

 _"_ _Hello Edward,_

 _You idiot! Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were injured? Did you break something? Do you have flesh wounds? Bullet wounds? I heard from Lena that when Greed says he is 'a bit injured' then that means hospitalization for a week! Tell me the truth, just how bad was that confrontation with Drachma?"_

Again, Ed froze, a blush taking nearly permanent residence over his handsome features, quickly he gripped the letter in both hands and frantically looked left and right if any of his men were in the vicinity. Deeming it safe enough, Ed's eyes rapidly trailed over the words.

"That woman...calling me an idiot again..." Ed 'tsked', rolling his eyes, "Well...she seems...worried about me?" he rose an eyebrow, his earlier irritation gone.

"Uhh..." he scratched the back of his neck, blinking in confusion, feeling funny for some reason. Ed hung his head, rubbing his face with one hand, " _Why do I feel so funny all of a sudden? I was fine a minute ago...heh...she sure has a weird effect on people..."_

Ed had to snort at the next line.

" _You know, I don't think it's very polite attempting to flirt poorly with a woman you've never even met in your life."_

Ed rubbed the slight stubble on his chin, thinking he would need to shave again, "Flirt huh?" he shook his head, an amused grin on his face and a little voice at the back of his mind chanting:" _Buuurnn!"_ Ed shook his head, ignoring the fierce blush on his cheek.

" _Though I admit, Mei showed me a few pictures of Alphonse and he seemed sweet and cute. I have blue eyes if you must know, Mr. Wannabe-Sexy-Soldier,"_

Another snort. Wannabe? "I think not," Ed commented idly, realizing he would've sounded crazy to anyone listening right now.

" _I see, I didn't know there were rules to follow when there is a war. I realize it may sound naïve, but I actually thought that soldiers just...grab their weapons and head into battle really. That's really sweet, I think, I mean he is your younger brother after all so it makes sense for you to be protective."_

Ed nodded to himself, " _That's what I'm saying too...wait...she called me sweet...?"_ Ed's heart seemed to go into cardiac arrest before he finally figured out that he needed to _breathe_. He took a huge gulp of air in, nearly choking himself to death. He pounded his fist against his chest and much to his horror, _Ling_ entered.

"Hey Ed! I heard you were choking what's-" he was promptly silenced by a very heavy phone smashing into his face, sending him crashing back outside into the dirt.

"I was _not_ choking!" Ed's chest heaved with the effort to breathe, coupled by his near suffocation and the panic rising in him at being caught reading Winry's letter. Ed quickly zipped the tent shut, marching resolutely to the small desk at the other side of the tent.

He sat down heavily on it, finally calming down from his near heart attack, he carefully unfolded the letter and began reading again.

" _So, Greed is the insane, incredibly dangerous twin huh? Well, I met him but only on occasion, we didn't really hang out. And when the girls and I have had a PJ party at my place, Ling had suddenly climbed in through my window and Greed fell in right after him so I wasn't really sure what to make of them till that point. But they are alright I guess, a bit crazy but they are good at heart. Lena keeps complaining how Greed behaves like a big cuddly bear when they're alone and he hogs her all to himself. Let's just say I wasn't surprised his name is "Greed"."_

Ed snorted loudly, " _Tch...I'm beginning to think I made a mistake proclaiming Greed to be the insane twin..._ " he gave a narrowed look outside, hearing Ling's groan of pain. He shook his head in exasperation.

" _Say Ed, do you know if 'Greed' is his_ _ **actual**_ _name or if it's just a codename or nickname or something? I've always found it unusual how his name was Greed to be honest but the more stories I heard from Lena, the more sense it makes,"_

Ed rose an eyebrow, rubbing his chin in thought, " _She has a point...I found it strange too but I just thought he wanted to be called that...then again, it_ _ **does**_ _make sense for him to be called "Greed" but...what's his_ _ **actual**_ _name?_ "

There was a moment of silence, before Ed shot up from his chair and unzipped the tent, spotting the near to unconscious Ling on the ground, heavy telephone slammed into his face. Disregarding the dying man, Ed picked up the phone and walked back inside, zipping the tent shut. Ling shouted after him, "Hey! How can you leave me here?!"

Ed shouted back, "You'll live!" Ling rolled his eyes and continued counting the stars that filled his vision.

Edward reconnected the phone to the wires and quickly dialed a private number he knew all too well, after two rings the caller picked up with a cheery, " _Greed?"_

Immediately, shame filled him, he heard the joy in her voice, the hopeful tone that she could finally talk to Greed after his long recovery...He really hated himself sometimes...

"Uh...n-no, it's me um Ed," he cursed himself for stuttering, feeling awkward at having to burst her bubble.

" _Oh, hey Ed,"_ her tone remained happy, but its energetic tune dropped once she realized it wasn't the man she had been having sleepless nights over worrying for his safety, " _Um, sorry, that was rude of me I'm happy to hear from you-"_

Ed quickly cut her off, his tone softer than usually, "It's alright, I understand. Greed is fine by the way, I just grilled him this morning. I think Mustang's having him stabbed on a pike right now," he joked, hoping it would lighten the mood.

Thankfully, Lena was one open for jokes, she laughed and it made Ed feel at ease, " _That's good to hear Ed, thank you for taking care of him and getting him out of there. He may not say it, but he's happy when you can save his ass from time to time,"_ Ed couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that information all too well.

"It's no problem, really, he's recovering nicely but I won't have him back on active duty any time soon so you don't need to worry for a while, okay?" he hoped she would get some sleep after his attempts at reassuring her.

Lena's tone suggested she was smiling, her voice turning softer, " _Mhm, yeah thanks Ed. Anyway, how come you're calling?"_

Ed quickly remembered the reason for his call and a grin stretched over his features, "Well...I was wondering...a few years back, when I met Greed and he became my subordinate...his real name had been marked as _"classified"_..."

" _No,_ " Lena's curt answer prompted Ed to look at the phone incredulously.

"Oh _come on_ Lena! What's Greed's real name?!" he clenched his fist, wondering if he should beg or not.

" _I'm not telling...besides...a certain sharpshooter already-"_

"Hawkeye knows?! Why does _she_ know and not _me_?" this couldn't get any worse.

" _I don't know...I just felt in the mood to spill the beans,"_ Ed grit his teeth at the accompanying snicker coming from Lena, " _By the way, did you write Winry back yet?"_

At that, Ed froze, adjusting the collar of his uniform, "Um, uh, w-well I- hey wait a minute! How do _you_ know about that?"

Lena giggled, " _Oh Ed, you poor naïve man... Anyway, Winry and I are waiting for your reply! Write faster man!"_

Ed shouted comically into the receiver, face cherry red, "H-hey! Don't tell me you're reading them too-" the line went dead.

The subtle twitch of Ed's left eye indicated his irritation as he slammed the receiver down, embarrassment filling him, did they _all_ read his letters? Mei too?! Lan Fan? _Hawkeye_? Oh boy...he was a dead man...

Ed shook his head rapidly, willing himself to sit back down at the desk and ponder over the letter.

 _"_ _I have only met Mr. Kimblee once but he seemed nice enough. At one point he seemed kind of scary but he was the perfect gentleman to Riza and I before he was sent to the border."_

Ed frowned, Kimblee? Nice? ...If one would stretch the word to capacity then yeah...maybe on some insane level Kimblee was _nice_...

" _Well, I thank you kindly for it, maybe I should get a medal since it looked painful...Oh! And I heard Lena and Greed were caught doing something dirty through the military lines! Is that true? She wouldn't utter a word to me about it maybe you've caught them? I sure hope so! I need more blackmail material against her!"_

Ed laughed out loud, covering his face at the prospect of Greed demanding utter privacy during his phone calls with Lena just to spice up a few things during their calls.

He supposed he could understand...to some level anyway. They've been together for long and being apart like this surely wasn't easy on them...he would have to ask Mustang or Hughes if any of the two caught them.

" _I will don't worry, nothing much here that can happen to me unlike with you. So far, everything is fine. Business is going nicely, granny comes from time to time to see how I'm doing, though I just think she wants to ogle my poor assistant... Everyone else is doing good, doing their jobs and such. Oh right, I'm supposed to tell you that Ling doesn't have "doorphobia" but as Lan Fan put it "a intense hatred and reluctance to use doors for fear of someone standing behind them and attacking him" or something like that._

 _P.S. Not to worry soldier! I'll salute to her like a first class trained captain! *wink smiley*_

 _Reading you soon,_

 _Winry."_

Edward smiled, chuckling softly at the comment about her grandmother ogling her assistant and Lan Fan trying lamely to defend her boyfriend's weird phobia. Ed probably spent a bit too long staring at the winking smiley scribbled cutely next to the sentence, he didn't really care, it looked...cute.

He had quite many ideas what to write her, he could include bits and pieces of recent happenings, but he would have to exclude the bits about the possibility of a Philosopher's Stone and Greed's connection to Sloth. He wondered if she would mind if he sent her a picture of himself.

Edward's good mood plummeted when he gazed down at _the_ arm, clenching and unclenching it to hear the distinct machine-like sounds. He sighed, rubbing it almost gingerly with his normal hand.

He couldn't show her that, not if he wanted to keep their new pen friendship anyway. She would go running through the hills if she ever discovered his secret. But maybe...

He grabbed a fresh piece of paper and grabbed the idly resting pen in front of him and wrote the first thing that came to mind:

" _Hey Winry,_

 _What do you think about video calls?"_

* * *

"Ah, listen, General I-" Greed began but was stopped by a hand motion from Roy who looked all too serious.

Greed fought down the urge to feel his throat constrict, wondering how bad this conversation would be as he shared a look with the all too relaxed Hughes standing beside his best friend.

Roy closed his eyes, "Greed...you have always been one of the better soldiers I've had the pleasure of supervising, along with Edward. You've made it one of your principles never to lie, as well as vehemently refused to fight women on the battlefield if the situation absolutely didn't call for it. You showed courage when rescuing your team mates from dangerous situations, showed your selflessness when endangering yourself to the enemy if it meant protecting your comrades," Roy opened his eyes, narrowed dark irises gazing evenly at Greed.

"However..." Greed's loose grip on his pants leg suddenly tightened, Hughes took note of it, his calm smile turning into a worried one, glancing briefly at Roy, "...you have withheld information that could prove to play a very vital part in this war as well as prevent internal strife within our very own military..." Roy's eyes narrowed, voice deep and sharp.

"What do you have to say about that?" Greed grit his teeth, bandaged hands clenched into fists.

"...It wasn't my intention to endanger any of you or prolong this war, sir. It was a rookies mistake on my part of thinking my past wouldn't catch up to me in some way..." Greed lifted his head, tired violet eyes locking with Mustang's, "But I honestly didn't expect them to be a part of the military, much less pulling stunts such as these,"

Mustang was silent, studying Greed's tense posture, the tightening of his defined jaw, the familiar, trustworthy violet eyes that looked so drained and apologetic now, the subtly shivering hands clenched into fists which rested on his thighs...

He sighed, closing his eyes in thought before he stood and looked down at Greed, who looked like he would be on death row.

Before Mustang placed his final judgment upon him, Greed added, "I will accept any punishment you deem necessary. Even if I get stripped of my rank and position in the military, I'll tell you all you need to know about them," Greed's violet eyes were no longer tired and apologetic when they lifted to meet Mustang's.

They showed the fire Greed was known for, fierceness, a protective gleam that suggested he would never endanger his comrades like that again and...

Roy smiled softly, worry lines and subtle age lines smoothing, making him appear younger, "What are you waiting for?" the amused smile Roy had confused Greed as did the question, "I thought you said you'd tell us all about them right? Report back to Elric and I'll see what I can do about locating them through our data base somehow,"

A minute or two passed before a small, roguish grin settled on his face, violet eyes lightning up in understanding and gratitude.

"Yes, sir," Greed slowly stood up, ignoring how the motion pulled at his stitches and patched up wounds, for a moment, he stared at Roy, before he settled a hand on his shoulder and squeezed trying to convey just how grateful he was without words.

Roy nodded and smiled, smacking his open palm against Greed's bandaged back, making the poor man nearly keel over, "'Atta boy Greed!" he was a whimpering, shivering mess as he walked back to their tent, rubbing his poor back.

"Don't you think that had been too much? He already got drilled by Edward..." Hughes piped in, gazing at the retreating man in pity and amusement.

Roy smiled, shrugging his shoulders, "Don't worry Hughes, Edward and I have been the least of his problems..."

"Oh right...there's still Lena to confront too." Both men winced in sympathy, Roy more so than Maes. While not as scary as his dear wife, Lena was a force to be reckoned with once somebody invoked her wrath.

* * *

"I'll _slaughter_ him!" Lena jumped on the couch, fingers rapidly punching numbers into her phone to call the State Military.

"W-wait a second! He's still injured right? Don't you think he has enough-" Winry shrunk back when Lena suddenly turned her head around, a menacing glare on her face.

"THAT'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH FOR WHAT I HAVE IN STORE FOR HIM!" Lena barked, impatiently waiting to be connected, "That stupid, overconfident, good-for-nothing-"

"Hello!" Lena's growl turned into a pleasant hum and Winry wondered how someone could switch moods so fast, "Could you please connect me with the Main Base where Major General Greed is stationed at? Yes, thank you! Have a nice day!" Lena smiled, before the telltale melody of the waiting line came back and the evil glint in her eyes returned.

A rather tired voice answered it, " _Hello?"_

Winry was almost shivering in the corner at how eerily _happy_ Lena's grin looked, "Hello, is this Major General Greed?" wait...why didn't she call him by name?

" _Yeah? Oh wait, sweets is that-"_

Lena's mask of calmness and sweetness broke, "I'LL SENT YOU TO THE DARKEST PITS OF HELL YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING MORON! HOW _DARE_ YOU MAKE ME WORRIED SICK BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID, RECKLESS, UNPLANNED STUNTS?!" her voice boomed within the confines of her house, Winry winced, imagining Greed's eardrums to be shattered by now.

" _Hey w-wait sweets I can-"_

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" the voice fell promptly silent on the other end, "You'll listen to _me_ now _soldier_ so listen well and listen _good_!"

" _Y-yes ma'am,"_ Greed's uncharacteristically shaky voice replied.

Lena's gaze was sharp, "I will personally sign in and make Riza station me there with you if I hear you pulling this shit again. I'll stick to you like some psychotic mother hen does to her young ones, I don't care if the whole squadron will laugh at you, you deserve it."

" _But-"_

"I'm _not_ finished!" she roared into the phone, causing Winry to fearfully grip her glass of water closer to her, "You will report to me every week so I know you're alright, if not, I'll call Ed and drill him for answers." Her gaze softened, the sharp edge slowly leaving her voice, "I'll try to do anything I can to not lose any part of you, I'll try to make sure you come back home to me in one piece Greed. I know I can't do much from here and that I'm acting irrationally now because of my anger, but believe me, I _will_ at least _try_ to make that all happen."

Greed remained silent, listening to her attentively, "...I know you're trying to protect Ling and the others, but..." she grit her teeth and Winry respectfully looked away after sensing Lena was about to cry, "...I know it's selfish, but protect them, protect yourself, but come back home after this war is over alright? I think the young one and I will like it, hm?" she smiled warmly.

" _K-k-k-k-k-y-y-y-y-y-y-YOU'RE PREGNANT?!"_ Greed's frantic voice could be heard by Winry and she whipped her head around to look at Lena incredulously, her face portraying her shock.

Lena sighed, "No, do the math idiot, I'm not. BUT..." she smiled, "...well...once you return and things get more peacefully..."

The next thing that Greed said made Lena giggle and Winry wanted to know what it was that the man said, Lena's face brightened, after a small pause it turned bright pink and Lena covered her mouth, giggling. Winry blushed and turned her head, chanting formulas and all kinds of different metals in her head to try and tune out the conversation.

"Alright then, bye - _yoku_ -" Winry immediately removed her hands from her ears, eyes widening. Did Lena just call Greed by a different name? She didn't pick up the whole name but... Winry turned back around and was met by Lena's calm expression, pink dusting her cheeks and a happy smile adoring her face. Winry couldn't bring herself to ask about Greed's real name right now.

"...It'll be alright..." she grinned brightly, wiping away the stray tear that almost spilled from her right eye.

* * *

Greed gently put down the receiver, sighing and grinning to himself like a maniac. It was true, his ears still stung from her roaring match earlier, but he was glad his girlfriend had more sense than that.

He reflected back on what he told her before they hung up, " _Heh, can't wait to see little lookalike me's running around causing trouble. If some of them look like you that'd be perfect. And the process of making those little rascals will be even better, now won't it?"_ he snickered and grinned stupidly, shaking his head at himself.

"Oh, I see, using the military lines for your perverted little shenanigans are we Greed?" Greed froze, robotically turning around to spot Edward Elric leaning casually against a wooden beam, grinning.

Greed's eye twitched.

* * *

Sloth softly snored, eyes closed and his large, muscled form leaning against the stone wall.

Sloth's sleep was only disturbed by incoming footsteps and the jiggling of keys, slowly, he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light in order to see if they would question him again.

When his vision focused, he could see it wasn't the usual guard approaching him.

"Ah, good morning Sloth, had a nice nap?" the familiar voice of one of his comrades rang in Sloth's ears.

"Oh you poor, poor thing, locking you up like this. Let's get you out of here Sloth," the mocking voice of the man clad in uniform sounded all too familiar to him. He opened the door to the small cell where Sloth was restrained, breaking Sloth's restrains as well.

Sloth blinked up at him slowly, "...What are you doing here?"

The man smirked, "Why show some gratitude will you? I came to free you of course, Pride's orders." the man's smooth voice was highly amused.

Sloth nodded slowly, standing up, "I don't want to work again..." he drawled lowly.

The man rolled his eyes, "There's still more work to be done, now let's go."

"So...have you found our dear runaway brother?" the grin stretching over the soldier's face couldn't have been wider and more malicious.

Sloth drawled lazily, "Yes...he's part of the military...like Lust said..."

The man grinned, "Excellent, that will ease our job. We have located his lover so it should be easier to persuade him to come on our side again," he licked his lips, his long dark green hair falling around him in downward pointing spikes.

Red eyes glowed eerily in the darkness but they weren't from Sloth this time.

The smooth voice from before laughed maniacally, broad shoulders shaking, "Maybe I should pay her a visit sometime...it could be fun," his violet eyes shone with malicious intent, "How I _love_ using my latest torture techniques on fresh prey..." he licked his lips.

 **Oho...another Homunculus revealed hm? I think we all know who this one is after all he has a knack for psychological torture...not to mention...** ** _that hair_** **!** Next chapter will be more focused on Ed and Winry!


	16. The Soldier & The Civilian

Hello my dear readers! I hope you all had a nice day today! My week started off pretty busy and I'm afraid it will end that way too .

Anyway, the story is slowly starting to develop, I'll include more **interaction** between **Edward and Winry** , **more battle scenes** , maybe even add **flashbacks to Ed, Roy and Alphonse studying alchemy in university**...etc.

Oh and **in the NEXT CHAPTER GREED'S "REAL" (in this story) NAME WILL BE REVEALED!** It's really nothing special, hell I almost feel sorry for all the hype around it but I find it cute ^^

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **AuthorBugsy:** (giggles) hahah Yup they definitely will! :D

 **Curligurl0896:** (grins) well..I've already revealed _part_ of his name, "- _yoku"_ ;)

 **Pouda-P:** Hihi, ya know, I've actually revealed just a part of his "real" name already " _-yoku"_

 **QuinzMoon:** Ah good evening there! :) I'm fine thanks, how are you? Haha Thank you very much I'm flattered! ;) I don't know, I think Greed would like a girl that was outgoing and had a bit of spunk and sass to her ^^ Yup that was our dear cute Envy at the end! Though I plan on making him _a bit_ more attractive in my story (don't worry, he looks the same just maybe a bit taller :P) haha have a nice day! :D

 **KittyKatt Uzumaki:** T_T THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND LIKING MY STORY! :) haha I really appreciate the compliment! ;)

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Soldier & The Civilian**

" _Hey Winry,_

 _What do you think about video calls?"_

The letter shook violently in her hands, Lena covering her mouth to try and muffle the laughter erupting from her throat, Riza grinned in amusement and Lan Fan covered her mouth, hiding a large grin. Mei's reaction was the best of all, she took a picture of the shell shocked Winry Rockbell and waved her phone around, "This is _so_ going to be sent to my Alphonse!"

"I see Edward has grown bolder," Riza commented mockingly, hiding a smirk behind the rim of her cup of coffee.

Lan Fan giggled softly, sharing a look with the mischievous woman, "If he can make her blush and stutter like this, I wonder what he will do once they actually _meet_?" Mei squealed and high fived her excitedly, bouncing up and down on the couch.

" _H-he wants to see me? ME?! B-but WHY?! I mean...how many letters did we send each-other? Six? Five? No wait...what? How much time did even pass? Three months? More? What year is it again?"_ Winry's mind was a jumbled mess of letters and words.

"I think he broke her," Lena commented, gently bumping her knuckles against Winry's head to snap the mechanic out of her thoughts.

"W-what?" Winry blinked slowly.

Lena grinned, "I recognize a love struck fool when I see one," she ruffled Winry's hair, making the blonde glare at her.

"I'm _not_ a love struck fool! We just started writing each-other like...a few months ago!"

"6 months and 13 days," Riza answered curtly, sipping her coffee calmly.

Winry's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, "You're _counting_?!"

Riza gazed at her rather calmly, "...I'm keeping tabs for reports,"

" _Reports?!"_ Winry tore at her hair, exasperation rolling off her in waves.

Lena shook her head, discreetly fist bumping Riza behind the protective barrier of the sofa, "Good one sharpshooter," Lena whispered, flashing a grin.

"Ugh, what do I _do_?! It's not like I can accept it right? We don't know each-other, we only wrote each-other letters, he's there at the border with his friends and other soldiers and...well what if he doesn't like me for my appearance?" she eyed her hair, then her tomboyish clothes then looked back at her friends.

Riza chuckled, "Calm down, Winry. Edward isn't someone to judge people based on their appearance," she tried reassuring the younger woman, but doubt was written all over her face.

"How do you know?" Winry sounded doubtful, sighing heavily. A sad look crossed Riza's face, eyes seemingly long gone, staring at a memory of the past.

"...Just trust me, I believe Edward has his heart in the right place," she smiled encouragingly and Winry frowned, not entirely convinced.

Lena leaned over the back of the sofa, looking at her insecure friend, "Hey, hey, hey, what's this I'm seeing? Stop looking so doubtful. You're usually far more confident when it's about your work, try being like that outside of it too will ya? Besides, from everything that Greed told me and from my own conversations and interactions with him I seriously don't peg him for-"

"Wait...you _talked_ to him? You _know_ him?" Winry blinked, shell shocked.

Lena blinked, nervousness creeping into her bones for not revealing that little detail to her friend, "Uh...well...I saw him a handful of times before...you know...yeah..." she whistled innocently, staring at the ceiling.

Winry tore at her hair frantically, " _Why_ is it that _all_ of my friends know Ed but _I_ don't?! How comes _I_ never saw him? Or why didn't you ever mention him before?" she looked at each one of her companions, crossing her arms over her chest.

Lan Fan scratched her cheek, "I thought we did...didn't we?" she rubbed her chin in thought, gaze downcast to think.

A light bulb lightened up in Mei's head, "Wait a minute! Of course we talked about him! We mentioned him a decent amount of times too!"

" _When?!"_ Winry couldn't help but think the tiny woman finally started getting delusional.

"...Whenever we spoke of "that good friend" of Greed's or Ling's who was also in the military with them and who was incredibly smart? Or who used to be sensitive about his height? The same guy that we tried setting up a date with for you but you didn't even want to listen to us and that's why we never tried it?" Mei counted off on her fingers, all the women nodding in agreement at Winry's cherry red face.

"That was _HIM?!_ I had no idea!" she buried her face in her hands, sighing heavily, Den nuzzled her knee, whining in unison, "Den...please don't tell me you actually agree with them?" another confirmative whine.

"Great...even my own dog is against me..." she rolled her eyes, "Anyway, isn't it too soon to... see each-other face-to-face?"

Lena smiled softly, "No, I don't think so. After all, you're merely acquaintances for now, you said you found him sympathetic, right? That's leading to friendship and I can tell you, once you get to know him, he's a pretty good friend," she grinned softly, "Oh and I guess he's not bad looking either, but I don't like blondes so..." she grinned proudly, "And I already got a man a hundred times finer than him,"

Watching Lena's victory-like pose and the words she just oh so proudly uttered reminded them all of a certain housewife which used to be their teacher in high school...Mrs. Curtis...

They shivered, rubbing at their arms at the scary memories they had of the woman who for some crazy reason kept calling herself a housewife and a "damn badass one" too.

"...Moving on..." Lan Fan cleared her throat, "I think you should consider the possibility, that way you can get to know each-other better and you can also see Alphonse, Mustang, Ling and Greed too," she smiled.

"Wait...I mean I like them but how does that benefit me?" Winry blinked in confusion.

The women sighed, shaking their heads and Mei spoke for all of them when she said, " _Duh_ because _we_ will be able to see our boyfriends and husbands too!"

"But you're not going to skype _with_ us!" Winry shouted, throwing a pillow at Mei's face.

With a straight and rather serious face, Riza lifted her index finger into the air, "As a matter of fact, I would like to enforce a new law which dictates all of us to be present while you make your video calls with Edward,"

Everyone immediately agreed and cheered, except Winry.

"You'll be the death of me..." she shook her head and Den huffed, his teeth showing as he seemingly grinned at the prospect of his owner getting embarrassed by her friends.

* * *

The steady footfalls of Ed's footsteps thumped against the earth and crushed leaves beneath his combat boots as he made his rounds, rifle in hand and eyes sweeping over the trees carefully, each tree providing possible cover for any of his enemies lying in wait, ready to strike him down.

He could feel the biting wind from the north chilling his skin beneath his uniform slightly, but he had gotten used to the low temperatures by now. His missions in Xing had given him a near to resilience against high temperatures, thanks to the large dessert one needed to cross to even reach Xing. Him being stationed here near the border to the arctic country had given him similar abilities, though he still wasn't a fan of the cold.

With deadly precision Ed fired a shot toward a tree, imbedding the metal bullet in its woodsy depths and hitting where he thought a potential target was located. The rustling of leaves made his muscles tense in preparation to a fight, eyes narrowing for better sight and legs getting ready to run towards his assailant to quickly disarm and kill him.

However, the man that emerged from the trees wasn't necessarily an enemy, but his very presence didn't exactly bring Edward much comfort, "Kimblee?" he lowered his weapon, exiting his customary battle mode and regarding the still injured man questioningly.

Ed's patrol had taken him farther away from camp, forcing him into a grey area between enemy territory and their own, that's why Ed chose to travel alone. If Alphonse or any other member had gone with him, he would need to, not only watch out for his own safety, but for theirs too and that was simply too much of a risk in situations where the enemy may plan a surprise ambush.

The man, now dressed in white, stepped behind the cover of the tree and Ed's trained eyes could see how he was favoring his side, the side he had been bleeding from profusely not even two weeks ago.

"You should still be resting," Ed's firm voice sounded, remembering his position and Kimblee's injured condition.

Kimblee raised a hand calmly, gaze steady, "Relax, captain. I'm well enough to walk and the scent of disinfectant and herbs has been giving me a headache," Kimblee smiled, "I've seen you walking out of the tent so I chose to follow you,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, "Why? You know enemies may be lurking around and I don't need an extra burden should it come down to a fight," Ed's gaze traveled over the area again.

Kimblee frowned at being called a "burden", "Indeed, but they surely won't attack tonight. There's too much turmoil within their own ranks," confusion washed over Ed.

"What do you mean?"

"Before Sloth attacked, I've seen their troops in the distance, heading for the Fort, however they must have seen Sloth, dressed in our uniform and noticed his enormous size and physical strength. I doubt they witnessed him attacking us, otherwise they would have seized the opportunity and joined in," he chuckled but winced and gingerly held his side.

Edward scoffed, "From what I heard, Sloth came from underground, under the Fort. How were they able to see him outside before he wrecked the place?" he crossed his arms, rifle slung over the broad expanse of his back.

Kimblee released a thoughtful hum, "Perhaps he had gained access by digging a hole from the outside? Because of the turmoil, I doubt Briggs men checked the area around their own walls,"

It was a possibility, Ed had to admit. Fort Briggs wasn't called for naught their "most powerful defense", it's size reached near to unimaginable heights and width, scouting out for any abnormalities in the snow far down the walls would take a considerable amount of men and a considerable amount of time. Time and men they currently were very reluctant to give freely.

"You could be right, I'll send a notice to Olivier in the morning about it," Ed looked back at the way he had come from, "We should head back, you need to rest,"

Ed had just turned around to start heading back when Kimblee's voice had stopped him, "What about Greed?" the tone of his voice didn't suggest anything good.

The fine hairs of the back of his neck raised slightly, "What about him?" he carefully kept his voice neutral, not betraying any emotion.

Kimblee noticed, "Is he branded a traitor?" the amusement lacing his words was fake, trying to hide his disdain over Greed's actions.

Ed chose to keep it short, "No,"

"Why not?" Kimblee retaliated.

"Because he did nothing wrong,"

Kimblee's voice suddenly rose ever so slightly, "You call sabotaging a mission and keeping vital information concerning the war _nothing wrong_?" the sharp bite Kimblee was known for was back and that feeling of discomfort came back.

Kimblee wasn't the nicest person in the world, he was ruthless on the battlefield, a harsh realist through and through, smart, very well read and a exceptional soldier. What he lacked in social skills he made up in insanity and bloodthirstiness. He had plenty of that.

But Kimblee also never took sides, a trait Edward certainly appreciated in many situations, if Kimblee was one thing it was rational.

"I can't change your opinion of him or dictate your ways of thinking and analyzing things, but I can just say to give him another try. Everyone deserves a second chance, isn't that right _Kimblee_?" the injured man frowned, looking like a scolded child.

He hummed, wisely keeping his mouth shut as both Edward and him headed back to camp.

They never noticed the glowing red eyes watching them.

"Hmm...seems like little ol' Greed's been unfaithful to his master?" the chuckle of the unknown male caused the curvaceous woman behind him to smirk.

"Indeed...it would seem so. Internal strife is any party's certain death," her deep, seductive chuckle sounded through the quiet forest, "Envy, let's pay his lover a visit shall we?" her eyes twinkled in mischief and mirth, red painted lips stretching into a sharp grin.

The man called Envy had a sadistic look in his eyes, "But _I'll_ do the talking," he grinned wickedly.

* * *

A knock sounded on the door and the blonde lifted her head, "Yes?" her clear voice gave the word and the person opened the door.

It was Bradley.

Riza stiffened, discreetly hiding the slip of paper she had been writing in code to Mrs. Mustang, "General, what can I do for you?" she made sure to keep her tone as calm as possible, her posture straight but not stiff.

Bradley's kind smile was on its usual place, but something felt off this time, "Hello there Lieutenant General Mustang," he smiled, "I've been wondering how your dear husband and his troops are faring up at north? Any incidents I should know of?"

Riza relaxed slightly, but only slightly, "None as of yet, sir. General Mustang informed me of Major General Greed's full recovery after two weeks of recuperation. For now, they are devising a plan on how to interrogate the captive,"

Bradley's eyebrow rose, "Captive?"

"Yes, they managed to subdue and capture a unknown soldier that had attacked them at Fort Briggs,"

Bradley's eye beneath his eye path pulsed, "...Do we know what allegiance that soldier answers to?"

Riza's answer was firm, "No,"

Bradley hummed thoughtfully, "His uniform hadn't given him away? Usually rogue soldiers are very rare to sight...much less attack such a large troop..." his eyes met Riza's.

The woman didn't falter in the least, "If I may remind you, sir, the party that General Mustang sent to Fort Briggs had only consisted of three men, not a very large troop. Perhaps the rogue had been too confident,"

Bradley looked skeptical, "I see...any information from the rogue?"

"Not presently, no. He refuses to speak," her eyes narrowed the slightest bit.

Bradley's usual aura of kindness suddenly enveloped him like a halo, "Ah, I see. Thank you Lieutenant General, keep me updated on the rouge soldier will you?" Riza nodded wordlessly and Bradley stepped out of her office, closing the door behind him firmly.

Riza waited several minutes until she dared to relax, breathing once deeply to calm her nerves and quickly retrieve the slip of paper she had tucked between two files in a small compartment under her desk.

" _I spoke to the_ _ **king**_ _today and I realized, the king knows everything. I've also heard a old lady sharing her thoughts on a few paragraphs of the bible with me, she said that l_ _ **azing**_ _around is considered to be a_ _ **sin**_ _, Roy,"_

With narrowed eyes, Riza signed her name down at the bottom and quickly called for her trusted assistant, Rebecca.

"Hey there Riza! What's up?" the brunette casually saluted and grinned.

Riza's seriousness didn't go unnoticed, "Rebecca, I need you to send this urgently to Roy. Tell the parcel office that this is priority and for his eyes only," she held out the slip of the sealed letter to her friend.

Rebecca nodded seriously, clicking her boots together and saluting, "Understood, it will be done immediately Riza," the blonde relaxed slightly, knowing she could trust her friend.

As soon as Rebecca marched out of her office, Riza leaned back in her chair, clasping her hands together and resting her elbows against the armrests.

" _Bradley knows Sloth,"_

Her eyes narrowed.

* * *

"You _dare_ disobey _me_?" dark icy blue eyes glared down at the cowering, injured soldier before him.

The insignia of his country proudly adorned his dark green uniform, the fearless and vicious bear with a red star in its center, growling at any and all enemies it lays its eyes on.

"N-no, s-sir but please understand w-we have retreated because we s-saw that, that _monster_ and-"

The leader harshly grabbed the terrified man by his collar, mercilessly shaking him and head butting him hard only to growl at his face, " _We_ do not get _scared_ of _fantasies_. _We_ _are those monsters_! And _we_ shall triumph over _them_! There is no such thing as some monster! Those stupid backwater Amestrians lack that kind of power!" he viciously threw the soldier to the ground, lifting his fist into the air and releasing a mighty roar reminiscent of a real bear.

" _We_ don't get _frightened_! Because _we_ shall overthrow Bradley and his minions! _We_ shall rebuild the glory once possessed by our family! We shall fight and bare our teeth to all and any who oppose us!" he slammed the hilt of his sword, a menacing looking broad sword, to the ground, glinting harshly within the chilling climate their country was known for.

" _We_ are Drachma! The mightiest of all!" in a display of power and dominance, he lifted his sword into the air, tip pointing in the direction of where Fort Briggs is located farther away at the border.

With the roars and battle cries of his men echoing in his ears, he smirked, "I shall find you Bradley and eliminate you," he retrieved a necklace from his pocket, tightly clenched in his fist, "And you shall pay for ever stepping foot into _my_ precious land,"

With his men's loud roars and cries of battle and anger, the leader of Drachma laughed, his menacing laughter carried by the wind and echoing throughout the icy mountains lining his territory as Drachma shook with the bloodlust of its leader.

* * *

 _3 days later..._

Edward smirked, subtly tapping his foot against the earth as he watched the courier he had given his letter to briskly leave the base, straight toward a chopper waiting for him in the distance.

It was the day where they were collecting letters and parcels from their side and sending them to Amestris, finally, Edward had waited long enough, he had finished writing his letter the night before, quite anxious if he thought back on it now.

 _He was pacing through the tent again, nearly making holes appear in the earth. Roy threw a scrunched up piece of paper at his head, making it bounce off of it and land harmlessly on the floor. That didn't even faze him, he continued making his rounds, or holes, pacing back and forth._

 _Greed hurled something far deadlier than just a paper ball at him, the small hunting knife bounced harmlessly with a loud screeching noise off of Ed's raised arm, clanking loudly to the ground._

 _Ed glared lethally at Greed, who was sprawled across Ling's bed lazily, examining his nails and shooting his superior a brief look, "If you don't stop making holes in the ground I_ _ **will**_ _hurt you,"_

 _Ed lifted his arm for emphasis, "Nice try," he scoffed and continued, hands behind his back, his pace seemed faster now._

 _Hughes suddenly poked his head in, grinning widely, "Hello there adorable freaks! How's it going huh?" his gaze zeroed in on a pacing Ed._

 _Roy sighed, "Our lovestruck princess here can't seem to write any poems today," Ed shot Mustang "the look" for that comment._

 _Hughes laughed, stepping in and slinging an arm around the shorter male, making him frown comically, "Oh Edward my boy! Being in love is the most wonderful thing in the world! Say, have I showed you a picture of my super cute wife?! Oh! What about Elicia!? Look at her! Look at this adorable cuteness! HA! That's my little girl!" Hughes grinned widely, proudly pressing photos of his two favorite girls in Ed's face._

 _Ed tried to shove Hughes face and photos out of his personal space, sometimes the man just didn't know the_ _ **definition**_ _of personal space. Roy smirked, chuckling at the scene._

 _"_ _Anyway, what's this I'm hearing about love poems hm? I thought you were just writing letters back and forth! Roy! Why didn't you update me on this new development?!" he pointed a accusing finger at his best friend, who sighed and smiled languidly._

 _Roy grinned like a cat when Edward growled, "Hey! I'm_ _ **not**_ _a lovestruck princess alright?! And I_ _ **don't**_ _write any love poems either! I'm just trying to figure out what to write back that's all. Tomorrow they're coming to collect letters so I have to finish it till tomorrow," Ed sighed, sitting down at his desk._

 _Hughes, for the time being, turned thoughtful, rubbing his slightly stubbed chin._

 _"_ _I see..." Hughes moved closer and rested a hand on Ed's shoulder, "Well, let me give you some advice on wooing a lady Edward," he lifted his index finger and Roy shook his head, Hughes was in preaching mode, "Women like to be wooed and showed affection to, but that doesn't mean that every woman necessarily likes the same things. I can guess she isn't your normal town girl when I last read a few sentences-"_

 _"_ _When the hell did you read my letters?!" Ed shouted mid Hughes preaching._

 _"_ _-so that means you have to use different methods to win her heart! I suggest asking her about her hobbies, interests and the like. I read she's a mechanic, correct? Try to write a bit about her work, ask her how her daily life looks like, if there was anything new at work and the likes. Women such as her are more than likely to be busy during the day, working on repairing cars and other things. Or..." he grinned, "...you could ask her friends about her reactions to your letters, see if perhaps she loves you too!" he made silly kissy faces at Ed, who growled and shoved the older man away._

 _Alphonse laughed, grinning awkwardly at the pissed look on his brother's face, "I actually think that's a great idea brother!"_

 _"_ _You can't be serious Al! Not you too!" Ed groaned, his forehead coming into contact with his propped arm on the table._

 _Greed sighed loudly, dramatically and rolled over on his stomach to look at Ed in boredom, "I say you guys take the next step and make video calls,"_

 _Ed turned around, "Eh?" he looked weirdly at the Xingese soldier, "...video calls?"_

 _Greed rolled his eyes, " What are you? From the 16_ _th_ _century? Yes, video calls cap." He retorted dryly, eyes bored._

 _Ed frowned, scoffing in annoyance, "I know what video calls are! Just...ugh!" he ran a hand through his hair, "I just...I can't ask her that! It's too soon! She'll think I'm some pervert or something!"_

 _Greed yawned, "Grow up! You're two adults that wrote back and forth for over three months, some time you gotta actually see each-other, even if it's not face to face at the moment." Greed's gaze softened a bit, "Besides, concerning the nature of our job, every day not trying to communicate with each-other is a day wasted,"_

 _A look of understanding crossed Edward's face and he fell silent, turning back around to avoid showing his team the conflicting emotions playing across his features. Alphonse adopted a worried look._

 _"_ _Brother?" came the soft, uncertain voice._

 _"_ _...I think you're right,"_

 _Greed turned his head in Ed's direction curiously but Ed remained with his back turned to him._

 _"_ _...Maybe I should ask her if she wants to skype...maybe it won't be so bad..." slowly Ed took the pen sitting on his desk and retrieved a fresh piece of paper from his drawer._

 _Greed blinked, sharing a astonished look with Ling, who shrugged and continued eating his berries, "I think those are poisoned," Greed deadpanned before he turned his attention to Ed, ignoring the now coughing and hyperventilating Ling beside him._

 _"_ _So, you're really gonna ask her huh?" Greed asked tentavly, ignoring his panicking twin._

 _"_ _Yeah..." Ed replied almost in a daze, too focused on his task to notice his younger brother trying frantically to calm down the still panicking twin, who was scared shitless about the supposedly "poisonous" berries he ate half a bowl full._

 _Greed smirked softly, there was something familiar about the way Ed was thinking deeply on what to write to that woman, even if he didn't know her well or never saw her. It reminded him a bit of himself, back when his and Lena's relationship had still been new and he was trying his best to woo her. He chuckled, thinking how often they had gotten into petty arguments, most of them, unsurprisingly, revolving around food, sleeping positions and about getting a pet dog so she wouldn't be lonely when he left._

 _He still remembered how many times he woke up in the morning only, instead of seeing her beautiful face next to his, he was greeted with either her foot shoved against his jaw or her laying half sprawled on top of him, sheets tangled between their legs and pillows askew._

 _He could never get over the fact that that woman changed her position of sleeping in the middle of her deep sleep, either way he was the victim of a uncoordinated kick or she would hug him like a teddy bear and they would sometimes wake up on the floor from all that rolling around._

 _His gaze moved to his own small night desk next to his bed, particularly the second drawer from the top. His expression softened, a painful tugging at his heart reminded him what was inside._

 _To distract himself from his thoughts, he chose to watch how Hughes was annoying the living daylights out of Edward, who desperately tried to hide what he had wrote in his letter._

 _Greed chuckled, kids these days..._

Ed shook his head, sighing and rubbing his forehead. His team sure was more than a handful, but they were all good people through and through and he wouldn't trade them in for the world.

"Brother? Something happened," he turned around, spotting Alphonse holding a tattered piece of paper in his hands, a grim, concerned expression on his young face.

Trepidation settled in Ed, wondering why his brother looked so worried over whatever was written on that paper.

Slowly, Ed took the letter from him, but instead of looking at words, he was looking at a single symbol and what appeared to be spots of blood in the right corner.

 _We are coming._

Ice flooded his very veins and settled into a tightly forming knot at the center of his stomach, his gloved hands clutched the letter tightly, grip shivering and shaking.

He didn't need to think too long on who was meant by that. He knew who was coming.

It was Drachma.

* * *

Roy's gaze carefully scanned Riza's encoded message, running over the words and the letters highlighted in them.

" _I spoke to the_ _ **king**_ _today and I realized, the king knows everything. I've also heard a old lady sharing her thoughts on a few paragraphs of the bible with me, she said that l_ _ **azing**_ _around is considered to be a_ _ **sin**_ _, Roy,"_

On a smaller separate piece of paper, Roy wrote down the real message his wife tried to tell him.

" ** _King_** _is Bradley...Bradley knows everything?"_ Roy's eyebrows furrowed, what did he know? He read over the sentence again, the last lines were confusing.

" _Lazing around? Sin? What could she mean by that?"_ Roy thought hard, she never wrote him something like this before, the nature of the coded message was peculiar at best.

Lazy? Sin? Was Bradley lazing around? Roy shook his head, " _No time for jokes now,"_ he told himself firmly.

Hm...lazy...sin...being lazy is a sin...why would she use a religions reference here...sin...committing a sin...

" _Bradley knows...he knows...about what...sins...lazy...being lazy is a sin...the bible...being indolent is considered a sin in the bible..."_

For several seconds, nothing happened, until Roy's eyes widened at what he finally discovered.

" _Sin! Sin! That's right! The sin of laziness! The sin of sloth!"_ dark eyes widened to the size of saucers and he quickly wrote down the decoded message.

" _Bradley knows about_ _ **Sloth**_ _,"_

Quickly, he burned both letters and rushed outside, quickly finding Hughes and Edward.

"Edward! Hughes!" both men turned around to catch Roy rushing towards them, they met him halfway, wondering why he seemed in distress.

"What happened?" Ed's expression was grim as if he had bad news to tell. Roy promised himself he would ask him as soon as he told him his own bad news.

"Riza sent me a message. Bradley knows about Sloth," both Hughes' and Ed's eyes widened.

"What? How is that possible? Nobody but us know who Sloth is or for who he is working for!" Hughes whisper-shouted to his friend, looking around.

Roy grit his teeth, "I don't know how he found out, but we need to make sure Sloth is still in his cell,"

Ed and Hughes nodded and followed Roy briskly to the barracks a little ways to the east of their base, where tents were set up with cells in them to function as "prisons" for captives that were considered dangerous or very aggressive.

The first thing they all saw was the body of the now dead guard at the front of the tent, their speed picked up as they rushed inside.

What greeted them was a empty cell door and a single old tattered piece of paper reading, " _See you soon,"_

This wasn't good.

 **Finished for now! Hope everyone liked it! Opinions and future suggestions are welcome! What do you think what's up with Drachma and Bradley now? What could happen next? O.O**


	17. Finding the Culprit

**I'm back everyone!** Thank you all kindly for putting up with me and reading this story ^^ I've had doubts about continuing or not or if it was interesting enough but you keep me going! :3

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Dark Shining Light:** Thank you very much for the compliment and reading my story! :3 Oh don't worry about that, I've tried taking it a bit slow to make it a bit more "realistic" but fluffy scenes will soon appear between them! :)

 **QuinzMoon:** haha hola amica! ;) Ugh...don't ask, stressed because of school and my teeth are killing me because I got my braces tightened today and I'm in a world of pain T_T Anyway, about Bradley, I'll include him more in the story now, since he plays a big part later. He IS interested in the war of course, since he has a fierce rivalry going with the leader of Drachma after all. But at that moment, he had been more interested to know where Sloth has escaped. Haha well, Ed tries to hide his letters from his friends but...meh, I just love writing how they tease him about it, it makes his more "human" side appear, as opposed to the battle hardened soldier he is on the battlefield. Haha I guess it's pretty obvious, tbh he's one of my favorite chars in FMA:B and I haven't really found many fics about him so I decided to write one where EdWin AND a little bit of Greed is. I also put Lena (OC) in this since I think Lan Fan and Ling fit better together. ;) haha have a nice week too!

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Finding the Culprit**

A knock sounded on her door suddenly and Lena lazily stood from her couch, wondering who could it be.

It was odd, usually she didn't get any visitors except her friends or occasionally her neighbors when they needed something. But her friends all worked and today was her day off...who could it be?

Lena opened the door and saw a tall, somewhat handsome man standing before it, dressed in a simple white dress shirt and black pants with unusually long spiky hair. She tilted her head, wondering. She never saw him here before.

"Hello, um, how may I help you?" she briefly looked left and right and found him to be alone.

The man smiled pleasantly, "I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you but...it seems like I got lost while trying to search for my house. You see, I've just moved into the neighborhood and purchased a house...around here-"

The door slammed in his face and he blinked quizzically, perplexed.

Lena growled at the other end of the door, shouting just enough for the man on the other side to hear, "Listen up! I don't know who the hell sent you but I won't get fooled with a sorry ass excuse like "I'm a new neighbor and I can't find my house"! I won't give you any information if that's what you want!"

The man's right eye twitched and he grit his teeth, " _Alright...this will be harder than I thought...I thought she was some easy-to-fool woman, but Greed hadn't been kidding when he said "a stubborn as hell woman made me" leave...now I know what he meant. Time for Plan B,"_

The man smiled sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head, "Ah, I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean! I seriously purchased a house a few hours ago and I've had errands to run in town but when I returned all these houses seemed the same to me and I didn't properly commit my own to memory just yet," his voice sounded genuine, that was good.

He could hear the woman snort skeptically, "Whoever you are, don't hold me for a fool. I can kick your ass back to wherever you came from if you're lying to me!" the man felt a shiver run down his spine and he cursed mentally, " _Just what sort of woman did that greedy ass pick? She's nuts!"_

"I promise, I'm not lying. I've asked your neighbors but they didn't seem too keen on helping me either," he tried playing the victim, perhaps she would go soft.

She didn't.

"My neighbors are just fine, why should I believe they didn't want to help you without a very good reason?" he cursed, damn this woman was smarter than he thought, stupid Greed.

For a brief moment he was tempted to just storm into her house and overwhelm her, but that would destroy the whole point of the plan. He sighed, calming himself, "I know it's not every day you encounter someone such as me but I really don't know where I left my house," he couldn't believe he was pleading with a _human_ to trust him!

Silence ensued for the next couple of minutes and before he could throw caution to the wind and endanger his mission, she finally opened the door.

Lena's eyebrow was raised and she crossed her arms, "Hm...I suppose," she warily stepped out of her house, closing the door behind her, the man smirked internally.

After a moment of tense silence, Lena chuckled, smiling, "Please don't worry about my behavior just now, I tend to get a little too suspicious at times. I admit, it tends to happen when you're new to the neighborhood and all. I'll help you look, do you remember approximately how it looks like or the address?" she pocketed her keys, a friendly aura surrounding the fierce woman.

The stranger smiled down at her pleasantly, "Thank you, I do hope it doesn't take away your precious time," he sighed internally, thankful she wasn't as distrustful of him as before.

Lena smiled, "No, no don't worry ...uhm...what did you say your name was?" she grinned in embarrassment.

The man grinned, violet eyes flashing, "Oh, please call me Envy," he winked.

 _"_ _Envy?"_ Lena's eyes widened in suspicion, her hand itching to grab at the hidden knife located at her calf beneath her pants leg, " _Did...did he just say Envy?!"_

Lena froze for a split second, looking up at him, "Pardon?" she tilted her head and Envy quickly corrected himself.

"Ah, excuse me, my name is Dan," he extended his hand for a handshake.

" _Shit! Thanks to this stupid woman, I've almost exposed myself! Let her be stupid! Don't notice the slip up!"_ Envy couldn't believe this, usually rookie mistakes such as this didn't happen to him.

Lena pushed back the uneasy feeling and shook his larger hand, smiling, "My name is Lena,"

The man smirked and turned to walk forward, "Thank you again for your help Lena, I know it's... not quite easy to trust a stranger," he smirked.

Lena smiled, "Don't worry, you wouldn't stand a chance if you did try anything anyway," she winked confidently.

This spiked Envy's interest, " _Hoho? Challenging me is she?"_ he could feel the subtle rage rise in him but he stubbornly pushed it down, " _Maybe next time..."_

Lena looked around but Envy noticed she always looked at him at least every few minutes, she distrusted him.

"So, what do you do?" Lena asked conversationally and Envy thankfully had a plan.

"I am a police officer," Envy replied smoothly, "What about you?"

"I'm a martial arts teacher, nothing special," she smiled, she was easy going.

"You know, I may sound too forward but would you consider going for a cup of coffee?" he was grinning internally while appearing the innocent, kind man he was supposed to be.

Her smile was sugar coated and innocent, "Oh, I thank you kindly for the invitation, but I'm afraid I already have something planned for today," she tilted her head slightly to the side, smile in place.

Envy felt slightly suspicious, " _Hm...just a few minutes ago she was interrogating me like I murdered someone and now she's acting all sweet and sugary...just what sort of woman did Greed pick? She seems too naïve to notice anything..."_

"Ah, I see, how about another time then? I would gladly...get to know you better," Envy purposely made sure he made his intentions clear, a small toothy smirk made its way to his handsome face.

Lena seemed surprised but suddenly something akin of a small shadow made its way to her eyes, which didn't seem too kind and innocent anymore, "Oh, I'm sorry, it seems I misunderstood you. I thought you meant it purely in a friendly cup of coffee. Well, I have a boyfriend so..." when she smiled and looked at him, her gaze spelled death.

Envy had to admit, either way the woman was one hell of a actress to even stir something like _fear_ into him or he was going soft...

"I see...how strange, I didn't see your boyfriend anywhere,"

Lena tried very hard not to punch his face in, "He's away on business,"

Envy smirked internally, " _'Business' huh? We will see about that,"_

"What does he do?" he hoped she would tell him.

It seemed his luck with women was starting to fray... "I don't really think I should tell you that, I mean, I don't know you, now do I?" she smiled.

Envy shook off the wave of anger he felt at her rejection, "Yes, of course, how rude of me." He quickly remembered his original backstory and quickly looked around the houses, "Ah, I think it's that one over there," he pointed to a house a bit farther down and Lena smiled, spotting the direction where his finger showed.

"Oh, that's a good thing that you remembered how your house looks like. Anyway, welcome to the neighborhood!" she smiled, extending her hand for him to shake.

Envy did so with a fake grin, "Thank you, I hope to see you again soon Lena," he smirked, malicious intent hidden behind a façade of friendliness.

The two parted ways and as soon as she was out of sight, Envy quickly hid behind a wall of a house and he was greeted by a seductive, feminine voice, "You could have made it more obvious,"

Envy growled, "Shut up, she was a tough nut to crack. Just what sort of chicks does the bastard even pick anyway?" Envy grumbled, scratching at the back of his neck.

Lust rolled her eyes, "I can see why she distrusted you, your acting skills are poor," her comment made the man glare at her icily.

"If I let you had a go I'm sure she would be in ribbons right about now," Lust smirked, not going to deny the very possible fact.

"Anyway, how does our plan look like? I gotta beat someone up so I actually get a house or she would be suspicious," Lust gestured to the house next door.

"I think this one is currently on sale, so we are on luck. However, gaining access to the police and getting a uniform will prove to be a bit...difficult," Lust commented, glaring at Envy's "hilarious plan".

Envy grinned maliciously, "Oh please...nothing you can't fix, right?" Lust tossed her hair back, bloody red lips stretching into a sharp smile that would have sent chills down anyone's spines.

"You know how I operate," she disappeared stealthily and Envy sometimes asked himself how she didn't get to be the stealth expert.

He sighed, looking at the house with a "sale" sign on it.

He smirked.

* * *

Lena waited patiently until the ringing stopped and the deep, smooth voice of her boyfriend reached her ears, " _Hey there, what's up?"_

She wasted no time, "Can we talk privately? There's something I need to ask," hearing the emergency in her tone, Greed replied lowly, " _Just a sec,"_

She heard shuffling about, footsteps stepping on leaves and then Greed's voice, " _Alright, let's talk,_ "

Lena rose an eyebrow, "...Just where did you go?"

Greed looked behind himself, holding the phone in one hand and the receiver in the other, crouching down on his haunches, " _Ain't important,"_ came his easy going reply.

Lena face palmed, "...How far from camp did you go, you lunatic?"

 _"_ _...Not that far, okay?"_ Greed rolled his eyes, she just knew him too damn well. Ten feet wasn't _that_ much, " _Anyway, where's the itch?"_

Lena turned serious again, "I may sound crazy..." Greed piqued in, " _You don't say..."_ , she continued with a eye roll, " _...but I think...I think someone from your old gang is here, may be here,"_

Greed turned fully serious, his attention solely on her, " _What? How do you know? Did you see them? Did they find you? Are you hurt? Should I come?"_

Lena couldn't help but firmly say, "Yes, yes, no and _no_ you _won't_ come! Greed! This isn't school! You can't just randomly _skip_ classes! You're in a warzone for pete's sake!" she huffed in exasperation, "I know you're crazy and sweet enough to do it, so that's a definitive 'no' from me!"

A long sigh, " _Yeah, yeah...so who was it?"_

A pause, "I think it was Envy,"

" _How did you know?"_ the emergency and alarm in his voice was unmistakable and it made Lena worry slightly.

"He slipped a bit. He said his name was 'Envy' at first but quickly changed it to 'Dan' after he tried to convince me I heard wrong," she frowned, "Also he found me, he was on my doorstep actually, under the pretense of being a "new neighbor" and "searching for his house"," Greed snorted loudly, "Maybe he felt confident because nobody but you knows what he looks like,"

 _"_ _Yeah, that sounds like him, arrogant ass,"_ Lena smiled, " _Did he do or say anything to you?"_ his questions were short and filled with a sharpness and alertness Lena only ever heard when he switched over to his 'soldier persona'.

"Calm down! He didn't do anything, yet," she winced at what it sounded like, "I don't think he _will_ do anything anyway, I mean since he sought me out, he must know our relationship. That means if he wants something from you he won't do anything rash," she tried to calm him down by reasoning and logic, thankfully Greed wasn't a fool.

Unthankfully, Greed was angry. He growled despite her calming attempts, " _Why the hell didn't you call Hawkeye? Let her shoot the lizard dead!"_ she could almost _hear_ his semi-automatic loading in the background and aiming at imaginary Envy's head.

She huffed in annoyance, "Let me _remind_ you that I'm an expert in martial arts, I don't think Envy has all too much of a number on me, though I shouldn't underestimate him either way."

" _I thought I told you what he looks like, how didn't you know it was him right away?"_ Lena growled at his question.

"You idiot! All you said about his appearance was that he looked like some palm tree!" she shouted at the phone, wishing she could shout with Greed face-to-face.

" _What am I supposed to say?! He_ _ **looks**_ _like a palm tree! A short, ugly, shitty little palm tree!"_ Greed groaned at the other line, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright, well now that I know who I'm dealing with..." before Lena could continue, Greed immediately scolded her.

" _No! You're_ _ **not**_ _taking matters into your own hands!"_

"No, no, listen. I thought of making him think I was some dumb girl, so he would let his guard down more easily. He actually tried asking me out today, but I said I had a boyfriend," she smirked, "Hmm...what if I pretended to break up with you and fool him?"

Greed's reply was immediate, " _No,"_

Lena rolled her eyes, sighing heavily, "Greeeed! Stop being such a baby! I'm just pretending!"

Greed crossed his arms on the other line, huffing, " _No. You don't know what that psychotic chicken will do! He was always a bit on the sadistic, bitchy, unpredictable side. He may kill you or try to toy with you until you go crazy, as long as you're suffering he's had his fill,"_

Lena frowned, "Hm...then what do you suggest? You know him better after all,"

Greed made a sound of agreement and replied, " _Don't do anything that provokes him too much, he's got a short temper and once he reaches his fuse, he can become sadistic and dangerous. He may not look like it, but he can become dangerous if provoked too much. Don't go anywhere alone with him, since he's likely being watched by either Lusty or maybe even Pride. Lust's far more dangerous than Envy, so make sure you don't open the door when he knocks again or go anywhere alone with him. Tell Hawkeye what happened, she can station guards at our house,"_

Lena frowned in confusion, "I thought you said Envy can prove pretty dangerous, how can a few guards overwhelm him?"

Greed grinned, " _Honey, I was talking about a dozen guards, all of Armstrong's caliber,"_

Lena shook her head, "Uh-huh, good luck finding so many good soldiers. Don't worry, I won't try acting on my own too much, since I trust your judgment on this one." She smiled, twirling the curled cord of the phone around her finger, staring down at it, "How is it looking on your side? Anything new?"

Greed released a long, drawn out sigh, " _You're not gonna like this sweets..."_

"Surprise me," she said dryly, plucking a green grape from her bowl she had fixed earlier for herself.

" _Our...captive escaped, the others must have busted him out. He didn't say anything when we tried interrogating him so we got nothing. We suspect Drachma's making their move soon, you know how their leader gets,"_ his voice was filled with disdain.

"What? Sloth escaped?!" her eyes widened, "That means...that means that surely Envy and the rest must have busted him out. They may already know where you guys are, are you moving?" her worry returned full force, she felt how her hands started to become sweaty and she wiped her hand across her jean clad leg.

" _Yeah, we're discussing our next coordinates. Anyway, I gotta go now. Remember what I said and don't act stubborn and do something stupid, alright?"_ his voice turned softer at the end and Lena smiled, wiping a tear away furiously with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Y-yeah...I can't believe it's you who has to tell _me_ that," she rubbed at her eyes, not understanding why her heart ached so suddenly and she had that sudden urge to just _cry_.

" _Are you...crying?"_ Lena's breath hitched at his question, how did he hear it out? Was she that obvious? Shit...

"Crying? No, no, why would you think that?" she laughed to herself, trying to calm down as fast as possible.

There was a short silence before Greed spoke again, " _I ain't your devilish handsome boyfriend for more than five years for nothing, sweets. Why are you crying hm?"_ she giggled briefly, feeling a bit better already.

She decided she didn't have the strength anymore to keep secrets any longer, "I just...I just...sometimes find it hard to...t-to cope with all of this Greed...I understand you have to be away, but t-that doesn't mean I like it..." she took a deep, shaky breath, "I just wish...you were here. I miss bickering with someone throughout the day, I miss doing laundry with you and scolding you because you put too much washing powder in the washing machine. I-I miss when we would watch movies with handsome actors and you would cover my eyes playfully whenever they got naked and comment things like " _My woman won't submit her eyes to such torture_ " and then you would try to make me feel better with your " _amazing abs"_ ," she giggled, covering her mouth, tears spilling from her eyes.

Greed chuckled, " _Yeah...my abs are amazing,"_ Lena laughed and she wished she could hit him for that comment, " _I never expected this stupid war to last this long, trust me. If none of these idiots had come here I wouldn't either. After all this is over...I won't ever leave you alone again, definitely not,"_

Lena froze. Greed and herself had always avoided using the word " _will"_ and " _definitely_ " whenever they spoke about him coming back, they were both realistic people, they were by no means pessimists but...this was war...war was always paid with casualties of all kinds...most with the lives of the soldiers in it.

It was something unspoken, they knew it wasn't... _definitive_ that he would come back, but they rarely said it out loud, because in truth, it scared her. _A lot_. She didn't want to face reality, she was facing it but at the same time not, because she just didn't want to even _think_ about that possibility, that Greed was never coming back.

Before she could tell him she was fine and to thank him for calming her down, the line went dead.

* * *

" _Fullmetal!_ " Roy roared over the rapid fire being shot back and forth and over the noise of explosions, releasing a torrent of fire towards his enemies in a straight line.

"Yeah, yeah, _I'm_ _trying here!_ Give me a break!" Ed shouted back, punching a Drachma soldier square in the face, the impact may have likely shattered his jaw and a few teeth.

"Where the hell did they all come from?! How did they find us anyway?!" Greed threw another soldier over his shoulder swiftly, rubbing his back when he felt the stitches that had yet to be removed stretched painfully across his taut skin, "Ah, damn, I'm getting old,"

"I hate to be a mood killer here but this isn't looking good Roy," Hughes commented, beating a soldier up with his rifle since he ran out of ammo, the poor sod was already half unconscious on the ground but he scared the crap out of Hughes just when the man was about to relieve himself by a tree, he was going to _pay_ for interrupting him damn it!

Roy quickly observed the small battlefield that was once their base, more and more Drachma soldiers came from the north and Roy had no idea why _now_ of all times, just as they were in the middle of discussing their next coordinates and relocating to another base.

What was that stupid ape thinking? He _had_ initiated a full scale war between Amestris and Drachma, but did he have to bash them every week? Roy growled, kicking another soldier away in frustration, feeling anger consume him at the leader of the arctic country.

"Retreat!" he motioned west, where they hid two choppers under well placed leaves and several low hanging trees, it would be nearly impossible for Drachma to have spotted them.

Ed whipped his head around, one arm holding a trembling enemy in the air, who had tears running down his face, realizing _who_ was holding him in the air, " _What?!_ Are you serious?! We can't retreat now! I-"

"That was an _order_!" Roy locked gazes with Ed, two authorities clashing before Ed grit his teeth and punched the poor fool in his grip away, turning to his team.

" _Retreat!_ " he shouted loud and clear, he looked back toward where Kimblee was, keeping more in the background since he wasn't healed fully yet, "Kimblee, can you provide a distraction?"

A toe curling, blood thirsty grin spread on his face and his eyes seemed to lighten up at the suggestion, Ed shivered mildly, still slightly disturbed about the amount of killing intent this man could exhibit so casually, "It would be my pleasure,"

He stepped forth, grinning like a madman when he saw the torrent of soldiers running towards him, he lifted his hands, swiftly grabbing several items from the insides of his pristine white coat and threw them at the ground, right at Drachma's feet.

The ground shook with the force of the blasts and just as a smoke screen appeared, Roy and Ed's teams started running west, Kimblee threw a grenade at where he knew enemies stood just for good measure, before Greed supported his frame and half limped, half paced to safety.

"Hm, again? I hope this won't become a regular occurrence," Kimblee remarked, but by no means venomously, referring to the fact he was saved, _again._

Greed smirked, "Sorry, but your explosives come in handy in combat so I thought to save your ass," Kimblee chuckled and smirked, nodding his thanks. Greed nodded back and Ed observed their interaction while walking beside Mustang and his brother.

"Hey Al, do me a favor and check up on Kimblee and Greed once we are in the chopper. I have a feeling they overdid it again," Alphonse nodded at his brother's words, looking at the injured and limping duo.

"What do we do now? They've got us in the rumps," Hughes commented, rifle in hand and running alongside Roy.

"First, we need to get out of here. There's a good chance that more soldiers are tailing us right now, we need to contact Central and send for back up." Roy looked briefly at Ed, "Do you think Drachma's sudden ambush is in any way connected to Sloth's escape?"

Ed immediately shook his head, "No, doubt it. I don't think Sloth, or whoever he gets his orders from, would unite with Drachma. They don't have anything personal against us, or at least I think so," he glanced at Greed, "Besides, remember what that crazy old goon said?" he referred to the leader of Drachma.

Roy nodded and sighed, "He says that about every five minutes every time we meet. _'We_ will win! Because _we_ are _Drachma_!'" he rolled his eyes.

Ed shook his head, "No, not that," he huffed, blowing a strand of loose hair out of his face, "The thing he said about sneaking in from all sides before taking the middle. Was this the first step?" Roy rose an eyebrow, not quite following.

Ed elaborated, gaze serious, "Our base was north-east from Central, see it as a corner on the map. I think he plans on eliminating each corner before he moves in for the kill in the center, right where Central is, where Bradley is," he grunted, keeping his pace even.

Recognition dawned in Roy's eyes at Ed's explanation, "Good analyzing, though I think most would aim for that pattern. I think he may have a more complicated plan put together, sometimes that may throw us off guard if we are not careful enough. This ambush today has been the first step to executing that plan of his and I'll make sure he won't follow through it," he growled, fire dancing in his eyes.

Ed suddenly grinned widely, "Heh, you can be really motivated can't ya?"

Roy was in his face in seconds, bumping shoulders with the younger male, " _Shut it_ Fullmetal," he grit his teeth and Ed chuckled, concentrating on the path ahead, entering a more forested area now.

The trees provided good cover and judging by the small markings on the trees, they were close to the hidden choppers now.

Ed could still hear shootings in the distance and he sighed in relief, they were getting quieter.

He fingered his breast pocket exhaling in relief when he felt paper crumble slightly under his prodding, good, he had Winry's letters safely stored there.

His eyes suddenly widened and he skidded to a abrupt halt, causing two infantrymen to nearly slam into him from behind, hadn't the first one sharply made a turn around his superior and fell to the ground to not hit Edward.

"What the-? Edward, why did you stop?" Hughes slowly stopped running, jogging back to the younger male's side, Roy and Greed and Kimblee walked to a stop as well.

"The last letter..." he whispered, eyes wide, "I...I forgot the last letter..." Hughes rose an eyebrow in question, not hearing his mumbling.

"What? What did you forget? Ed?" he placed a hand on his shoulder, but Ed drew back, breaking in a head start in the wrong direction: back to camp.

"Hey! Stop disobeying me you fool!" Roy shouted, chasing after the blonde soldier, "Where are you going?! Do you want to run to your death?!"

Ed shouted back, gaze forward, eyes narrowed, gun already at the ready in his arms, loaded, "I forgot something important! I'll be right back!"

"Brother!" Alphonse slammed into his brother's running body, making the male shout in surprise and impact the ground rather painfully.

Alphonse was promptly shoved off of him, "Ouch! AL! What gives?! Do you want to give me a concussion?" Ed rubbed at his head, seeing stars briefly swarm his vision before he shook his head and regained focus.

Al shouted in his face comically, "DO YOU WANT TO GET KILLED?! THERE ARE ENEMIES OUT THERE! YOU WILL GET SHOT! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET SHOT! WHAT CAN BE SO IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO-"

Ed suddenly cut his brother off, his tone serious, "I forgot something important Al, I forgot the last letter she sent me. I have to go and get it back," he clenched his hand into a fist, gritting his teeth at his forgetfulness and stupidity.

Granted, they had been ambushed and caught off guard, but that was no excuse to forget something as important as taking _all_ of Winry's letters with him before their base got destroyed.

Ed quickly stood up, dusting off his pants, "Don't try to stop me, I'll be back, you just head straight to the chopper, I'll find you," he took off again.

Alphonse stared after his brother speechlessly, surprised of his brothers actions. He knew the writing letters back and forth with Winry had changed his brother a bit, he would suddenly sneak out of their tent, going somewhere where nobody would think to look for him or find him easily. He also noted how, whenever he received her letter, he would get slightly distracted, not in battle, never in battle, but concerning mapping the area, participating actively in discussions, situations which didn't endanger the lives of others simply.

When he asked Hughes about it, the older man just said it was "Edward's first time of finding a woman that showed an interest in him and him reverting back to a lovesick school boy". Alphonse sighed, he was glad he hadn't asked Mustang, who knew what _he_ would have said.

"I've got this!" Greed suddenly rushed past Alphonse, who was still on the ground but shot up as soon as the man ran past him, "Hey! Greed! What are you doing?! Your injuries haven't healed yet!" he shouted after him desperately.

Greed turned his head briefly to grin and shout back, "Don't worry! The runt's safe with me! I've got time to heal later!" he waved with his free arm, the other was holding a bazooka, his rifle slung over his broad back, he was equipped with two grenades.

Alphonse turned to look at Kimblee, who shrugged his soldiers and smiled, "Never go unprepared into a battlefield, especially one filled with smoke,"

Alphonse fell back on his back, hearing how Mustang was having a fit because of Ed's recklessness and Hughes fawning over pictures of Alicia and Gracia again, he groaned, slapping a hand to his face in exasperation.

This wasn't going to end well.


	18. Something Important

**Hi! Back again! I'm so relieved that I can still squeeze in a chapter before exams start! T_T**

 **NOTICE: Greed's "real" name will be finally revealed in the NEXT chapter in a flashback scene between Riza and Lena!** ALSO **VIDEO CALL** between Edward and Winry in the **NEXT CHAPTER!**

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Pouda-P:** haha I'll FINALLY reveal Greed's real name in the next chapter! :) That will be a flashback to Lena and Riza's conversation, revealing the full details of everything.

 **QuinzMoon:** haha Well, that comes later, but he's starting to see that he values this weird penfriendship he shares with Winry. It's not exactly _Winry_ per see but rather that someone, even if she got him at random, actually starts to ask about his day, about himself, something he didn't experience before since he's been for so long in the military and such a relationship is dear to Edward. He's still awkward about it, since it's all new to him, but he tries being smooth through the letters even if he's a mess before writing them. :) Hm...I'm not sure I understand, you're saying you don't understand why Ed got so attached to Winry right? I explain it above but if there's something that confuses you feel free to ask! :3 Take care too!

 **Sherlsepeare:** Hey there, welcome to my story! :) And thanks for reading it too! Thanks a bunch for the compliments, I have some key moments written out between Ed and Winry for when they finally video call. Their video call will be in the next chapter! :)

 **Enjoy reading!**

* * *

 **Something Important**

He dodged this way and that, carefully but swiftly navigating closer to the still smoke filled area where their base had been, he could still hear voices, many of them, he deduced about twenty to twenty-five, maybe more.

Ed hid behind a nearby tree large enough to hide his frame, he checked his ammunition again and pocketed one grenade he had in his pocket. He frowned, just one? He would need to be careful when he would use it.

He had enough bullets to shoot with, he still had the small knives hidden within his boots, a hunting knife strapped to his calf and a small pistol hidden within his uniform.

Ed clenched his fist, hearing the metallic noise that usually came with it and sighed, closing his eyes. That was Winry's last letter in there, somewhere behind that line of enemies, he _couldn't_ lose it so carelessly.

" _Tch...since when did I started getting attached? Am I running a fever or something?"_ he frowned and ran a hand down his face, " _Winry's just a friend, well, the only woman really that actually asks about my day except Mei, Lena, Hawkeye and Lan Fan but still...this is different."_ He tried thinking on _why_ it was different but he came up with no answer at all.

" _Damn...this is suicidal...going in a field filled with enemies just for some letter...I'm starting to get soft,"_ he sighed, releasing the safety on his rifle, " _Too late to back out now, she's a friend, bet she would be pissed if I lost her letter,"_ he smirked at the thought and moved out.

Edward made sure his boots left as little noise as possible, avoiding leaves and small branches on the ground, he went into a low crouch, lifting the tip of his rifle in the air when he saw a moving shadow within the cloudy smoke.

Readying himself, he aimed at the shadow's head and fired.

The body fell heavily to the floor and immediately, more shadows appeared, alerted that somebody shot their comrade. And suddenly, Ed found himself seeing well over twenty shadows, all becoming darker and moving closer.

Muttering a soft curse under his breath, Ed readied his rifle again, preparing to shoot in rapid succession until suddenly, something flew over his head, towards the small crowd of alerted enemy soldiers.

After a second, there was an explosion and the force of the grenade knocked Ed off his crouch and onto his back, "Argh!" he quickly righted himself up and found to be staring straight at somebody he had _last_ expected to be here.

His reaction was to punch his stubborn friend in the face, "Ouch! Hey! What gives cap?!" Greed whined, rubbing his face at the harsh punch of his superior, looking like a overgrown pouting child.

"What are you _doing here_?! Where is that good-for-nothing Mustang?! You're injured for hell's sake!" Ed growled, gold eyes narrowing dangerously, "I don't take it lightly when one of my men is disobeying _my_ orders, Greed. _Especially_ when the place is swarming with enemies!"

Greed grinned, "Don't get your panties in a twist, besides, you could use a good shield that can cover for ya while you go and get your girlfriend's letter," Greed winked.

Ed exploded, "SHE IS _NOT_ MY-"

Metal screeched against metal and Ed turned his head to look at Greed, whose shield covered arm had been outstretched to block the bullet meant to go straight through Ed's shoulder.

Ed sighed and relented, "...We are going to talk about this," he tapped Greed's iron hard arm, narrowing his eyes.

Greed rolled his own, "Yeah, yeah, later mom," Ed huffed, bringing his rifle forth and meeting his enemies head on, Greed shooting with his own spare rifle back to back with Ed, his shield covering his entire body except his face, providing good cover for Ed too.

They switched positions, Ed taking the left flank while Greed took the right, alternating between rolling on the ground while the other jumped overhead and kicked a soldier in the face and shooting bullets in a circular motion.

Contrary to what they expected, the fight had been over soon and that only made Ed more suspicious, he looked around, bracing himself for any enemies lurking around ready to attack.

He was about to step over the body of a fallen soldier until his eyes caught on to the fabric covering his arm, it was green, as was the custom uniform color in Drachma, but something red was peeking forth, hidden beneath the dark green fabric tied around the soldier's arm.

When Ed crouched down and slowly untangled it, his eyes widened at what it revealed.

Red.

A red bird.

"Aerugo?" Ed froze, the blood in his veins turning to solid ice and his breath caught in his throat.

"What did you find?" Greed approached him and crouched down as well, violet eyes narrowing at the cloth he saw Ed holding, he growled lowly, "Them too? Why are they interfering in the war?"

Ed couldn't believe this...they've been on neutral ground with Aerugo, trading supplies here and there and agreeing on no threats of conflicts. However..., "Do you think they're held as hostages and forced to fight?" it was a possibility...

Greed snorted, "Tch, bastards...they don't have an army and their country is split by internal strife, what else do you expect from weaklings like them? Of course they would join the enemy to gain power,"

Ed shook his head, "I'm not sure...maybe there's more to this," he pocketed the cloth and stood up slowly.

Greed looked around, readying his weapon, "Go, I've got your back," Greed followed him as Ed made his way towards their tent, which looked to be ransacked.

"NO THEY DIDN'T!" Greed suddenly hollered as he threw himself at his bunk bed, frantically searching through the drawers of his night stand.

The man sighed in relief when he found the hundredth picture of Lena he hid in his drawer, "She's still here..." if Greed were more of a softie, he would have rubbed his face against it like a certain family man...

Ed deadpanned, "You have a hundred pictures of her and copies..." he shook his head when Greed started pocketing every picture he had.

He made his way towards his own desk, opening the last drawer and finding Winry's letter in it, untouched.

 _"_ _That was close,"_ Ed thought as he safely stored it in his breast pocket.

They heard movement from outside the tent and Ed motioned for Greed to fall back, crouching low to hide behind one of the bunk beds, as Ed made a steady hand gesture to lay low until he gave the signal. If he could prevent bloodshed, then why not? The shadow of a soldier moved swiftly across the tent, obviously not expecting any enemies to be here, at least not them.

The shadow crept closer, deforming slightly and Ed and Greed tense when the footsteps become louder. Blood pumped wildly in their ears, muscles locking in position.

Despite having done this more times than they cared to count, it still sent that _thrill_ humming in their blood when faced with a potentially dangerous challenge they had yet to know anything about. If it was another disguised soldier from Aerugo, Ed was determined to interrogate him to find out what was happening on his enemies' front lines.

"Eddd! Hey Ed, my boy! Where are you? Did you get your girlfriend's lett-" Ed growled, taking the rifle from Greed's hands and jumped over the bed, whacking Hughes upside the head as the startled man nearly fell to the ground in fright until he saw it was none other than said man.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" he made sure to keep his voice normal, fully aware that he may alert enemies of their location.

Hughes scratched at the back of his neck, grinning, "Well, I suppose time will tell!" before Ed could throw in a comment, Hughes turned serious again, "I suggest we grab everything we need and get out of here as fast as possible, Roy and the rest are probably already there," he motioned with his head to move forward and they did, trekking carefully across what was once their camp.

"Ugh, shit, how do I explain all this to Lena? She's gonna kill me," Greed groaned, thinking of how she most likely heard the explosion when their connection got cut off in the middle of their conversation.

Hughes smiled, "I'm sure she will understand, after all, she seems to be a lovely young lady you have there,"

Ed coughed into his hand and Greed whacked him at the back of his head, "My girl _is_ lovely runt!" if he was a dog, he would bite Ed.

Fullmetal grinned, "She is...mostly," this time, Greed silently agreed, thinking of her reaction when he would finally find a phone and contact her again. At times, he was happy there was so much distance between them.

"Hughes," the man perked up at Edward's change of tone, the air growing serious and chilly, "I have news," Greed's expression grew grim.

Hughes rose an eyebrow, waiting patiently to hear what the younger soldier had to say, Ed's eyes were cold as the next words sent alarm bells ringing through Hughes' ears, "I suspect Aerugo has a hand in this war too,"

* * *

 _"_ _Hey Winry,_

 _I didn't think it was important, it's normal for soldiers to get injured. My injuries healed already so there's nothing to worry about, but..thanks for worrying. Drachma's been growing bolder, but they shouldn't attack for another week, but we still plan on surprising them with a attack of our own as soon as Mustang gives the order._

 _Now that you mentioned poor flirting, I thought that's what you have been doing the past months now haven't you? Don't worry, I feel flattered."_

 _Blue eyes huh? I guess I have the weirder eye color of us two, still I think blue is a nice eye color to have, the color of the sky and the ocean and...yeah..._

 _About that, I think I made a mistake proclaiming Greed as the insane twin, I think both of them are insane. The difference is one is and looks like a cinnamon roll and the other looks like he could kill you and can actually kill you, I don't think that needs any clarification. Anyway, the thing with "doorphobia man" as we like to call him, is normal, he's had that weird tick since we met. His girlfriend, I'm amazed how he even got one, tried to help him with it but she occasionally goes along with it and goes through doors just like him. I lost all hope for them. Thankfully, Greed doesn't do that, yet._

 _Uh...as far as I know, nobody knows Greed's actual name_ _ **except**_ _Lena and according to my latest sources, Hawkeye. Blackmailing Hawkeye is as effective as blackmailing an ant, so don't even try it. Try to blackmail Lena somehow, there's always something worth it right? I'm not too much of an expert with it, so I don't really know. Kimblee...he is nice...in his unique way. As long as he doesn't hold a grenade near your throat you should be perfectly safe with him._

 _I know Lena would be a bit mortified if someone caught them doing...whatever they do, but Greed's shameless about it, so I think he managed to convince her. Ask Hawkeye about it, Mustang and Hughes love spying on Greed when he's talking to Lena on the phone and I heard Greed having a fit once but I wasn't sure at time why... Just search their bedroom and I think you'll find some blackmail material there, but be sure to do that when Lena's not in or she would rip your throat out...at least I know that's what she would do to me. Leave it to Lan Fan to defend her manic boyfriend of having "an intense hatred against using doors"._

 _Uh...right, so how are you doing? We haven't written each-other in a while, it can get pretty busy here so I hadn't been able to write. Oh and I wanted to ask you something if it's not too forward, you don't have to answer if it is though._

 _What do you think about video calls?_

 _Reading you soon,_

 _Ed."_

Winry smiled, cheeks alight with color as she fumbled with trying to find a clear sheet of paper to write on. Den was watching his owner gain a unnatural color on her pale face, something he wasn't very used to see.

" _He says he's healed...that's good. He can be pretty funny, maybe he isn't so obnoxious after all..."_ Winry smiled, re-reading the letter again from head to toe until she noticed the slightly smaller handwritten text located in the lower left corner as if Ed had been unsure if he wanted her to see it or not.

It read, " _Is fixing cars all you can do or can you cook too?"_

The wrench imbedded itself into her couch before Winry knew it and she growled at the letter, " _Edward!_ "

She took that back, he _was_ obnoxious! Stupid soldier freak!

She would definitely tell him that once they start skyping together...

 **Very short chapter I'm sorry for it! EXAMS are starting now and I'll update in TWO WEEKS! Suggestions for new chapters / ideas are welcome! :)**


	19. Of Video Calls and Army Talk

**I'VE PASSED HALF OF MY EXAMS!** WOOHOO! (happy dance) I still have one practical exam on Wednesday and preparations for all sorts of presentations and the rest of the exams but...yeah... I'm beat, seriously just really, really tired, physically, mentally, everything ^^ I really hope I'll manage to get a rest and a good night's sleep sometime by the end of this week.

Anyway, I'm really sorry I didn't update sooner, studying has been taking away most of my free time I usually spend on creating plots and writing T_T

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Sherlsepeare:** Ah that, I know some readers may think that's a mistake on my part, but actually it's just as you said: Ed really did forget that Winry mentioned that her dog's name was Den, after all the teasing from Mustang and the others he completely didn't connect the dots and thought she would have a boyfriend or husband since many other people he knows have significant others as well ^^ I can't wait when I get to the part where Winry tells him Den is actually her dog and it hits him like a train...:3 haha Thank you, I imagine I would react in some situations too...I _have_ to joke in awkward / tense situations, it's like my defense mechanism, so many of the jokes here would come from me in these situations haha. Thank you very much, I'm sorry for the late reply and all the best luck for your exams too! :)

 **QuinzMoon:** Well...I think I'm not the only one, but I like to link Drachma to the real life Russia (you know, country up north, arctic country, strong military...etc..etc.) of course in my story, I'm exaggerating the leader but yeah... ^^ Drachma's mantra is this: "survival of the fittest" and "kill or be killed" similar to Olivier's mindset, although much more extreme. I'll include a scene where Drachma's leader once wanted to recruit her into their ranks but she refused because of Alex...etc. Thank you for the nice compliments! :)

 **Panic:** haha Hey there, thanks for the compliments :) I admit, I have a slightly difficult time explaining their powers in real life, like Pride's abilities for example or Gluttony's and Wrath's Eye. Thanks! I really don't like it when people often tend to focus on the romance (maybe because I can't really imagine myself writing a romance novel or the like) but often forget to portray and focus on the friendships as well, since they can be just as strong as love and are a form of it too. So I try to focus on friendships in my stories too.

 **Lily:** :O Oh...there was a flood? Oh jeez...don't know if one should be glad school got cancelled or because there's a freaking flood on the way... .

 **Enjoy! ;)**

 **FUN FACT:** Originally, I wanted Greed and Ling to share a body and classify them as having a "multiple personality disorder" but then again, it wouldn't have quite worked out with the couples and some scenes in this fic so I had to give up the idea ^^

* * *

 **Of Video Calls and Army Talk**

 _"_ _Hello Ed,_

 _Any injuries are important, soldier or not, you're just being an idiot. You wouldn't be the first soldier that's an idiot, that's for sure._

 _Ah, flattered you say? Oh I'm sure you do, after all, misinterpreting my kindness as flirting only seems natural to a douche such as you but I'll have you know my flirting skills are superb!_

 _And...thank you, for the compliment about my eyes...I never knew even soldiers can be so cheesy, that's a nice change of attitude for once._

 _What? Really? Nobody knows Greed's_ _ **real**_ _name? Hm, you're right about Lena though, I'll try and report back on my success rate, sir! I don't think searching their bedroom will do me any good but suffer a black eye..or since we are friends she would just brutally ban me from the house. Either way, I'll try to squeeze it out of her._

 _I'm doing alright, business is doing alright too, though I have a automail leg I just can't seem to fix anytime soon, the owner says he wrecked it when his tractor accidentally ran over it, thank god it had been his automail leg. It's in shambles, but the wires got destroyed beyond repair and I need to buy higher quality as well as high quality metal since he's a farmer and that may happen again. At least next time it will withstand the pressure better or in the worst case, get dented._

 _How is it going back there? I heard from Riza that General Mustang or uh, Colonel as some still call him out of habit, is doing fine. What about you and the rest? I heard Lena suddenly rushed toward the State Military but I haven't gotten around to talking to her yet, do you know if Greed's alright too?_

 _Be reading you soon, Ed. Take care!_

 _P.S: Be prepared to suffer my wrath screen to screen once we start video chatting!_

 _-Winry._

The letter was safely transported to the State Military, where the envelope's contents were quickly scanned for any suspicious items stored inside of it, before they were officially ready for transport toward the border, where a courier was already waiting on the chopper.

Riza had smiled when she recognized Winry's name and address on it, so she had answered Edward's letter...

Riza leaned back in her chair in the quietness of her office and smiled in amusement, remembering a conversation Lena and her had shared not long ago...

 _Flashback_

 _"_ _Yo sharpshooter!" Lena greeted casually, plopping herself down on the chair opposite of Riza as the elder woman smiled._

 _"_ _Hello Lena, I assume you're open for negotiations?" she clasped her hands together with her elbows resting against the dark mahogany desk._

 _Lena smirked, chuckling softly, "Well, since you've made me that lucrative offer I simply can't refuse. So, pay up," she grinned, holding her hand out._

 _Riza playfully rolled her eyes before opening the second drawer of her desk and handing Lena an envelope, the words "CLASSIFIED" written in bold letters on its front._

 _Lena's eyes developed a wicked gleam in them as she carefully opened the envelope, peering inside it as if looking at classified information of the state itself._

 _"_ _OH YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT SHARPSHOOTER! WOOHO!" she fist bumped the air, smiling wickedly and laughing._

 _Riza couldn't suppress the giggles escaping her as she regarded the pure glee Lena was in, "I can't believe you're a grown up woman sometimes,"_

 _Lena scoffed, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm a child at heart! Thank you ma'am!" she grinned, safely tucking the envelope in her pocket, "I thank you for the kind blackmailing material, Mrs. Mustang,"_

 _Riza turned mock professional, nodding and smiling, "And I thank you for accepting my offer," she smirked, "Now let's fulfill your end of the bargain,"_

 _Lena smiled slyly, "Ah, of course you were waiting to hear it huh? I don't get why people make such a big deal out of it, Greed just doesn't want to get laughed at but I think it's hilarious," she snickered, "I think his parents made a bet and his mother lost and then his father got to decide what to name him...poor thing, I suspect they may have known he would turn out the way he did," she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, seeing the impatient look on Riza's face._

 _"_ _Alright, alright, don't kill me with your stare, Riza," Lena leaned forward, cupping one hand over her mouth and whispered her boyfriend's biggest secret,_

 _"_ _Don'yoku,"_

 _Riza's eyes widened before she desperately tried muffling the fit of giggles that threatened to break her defense, both hands clasped before her mouth._

 _Lena grinned and burst into laughter as well._

 _Flashback End_

She shook her head, dialing a very familiar number on her phone and after suspiciously long minutes of waiting, she finally got through, "You'll never believe what I've got to tell you,"

The ragged, slightly breathless voice of her husband drove Riza to sit straight and a spark of worry and fear to invade her heart, " _I think you should let me go first,"_

Her voice instantly turned firm and sharp, eyes narrowing and hands quickly spreading out a map, "What happened Roy? Where are you?" she grabbed a red marker and waited for Roy to tell her their location.

He wheezed, " _Drachma's...troops ambushed us, they caught us by surprise and destroyed our base. We're waiting at the chopper for Edward and Greed to get back, Hughes went after them, I suspect it shouldn't be long before they arrive and we can head to our secondary base to the south,"_

Riza didn't hesitate to ask the question she had been dreading ever since hearing his breathless voice, "How many are injured? Any...casualties?" she knew it to be a foolish question to ask _if_ there were any injured, considering this was a full scale war they were participating in.

Roy released a small chuckle, " _Not many, thanks to Edward and Greed, as well as Kimblee for providing the distraction so we could get away. There have been no casualties so far, but we have a few injured, Greed and Kimblee aren't fully healed yet,"_

"Are you alright?" Riza allowed her voice to soften as she asked this, this was about her husband after all.

" _Oh? Worried about me Madam Mustang?"_ she could almost _see_ that cheeky grin of his.

"...I'm considering seeking a divorce counselor," she rubbed her forehead, sighing softly as a small smile adorned her face.

He laughed, a rich, deep sound that calmed her nerves and put her racing heart at ease, " _I'm sorry to disappoint, but you won't get rid of me that easily,"_ she smiled in relief, glad to hear he was alright enough to joke around.

"Do you require assistance?" she hoped he would be honest with her.

" _No, not at the moment, we just need a quite, safe place to regroup and plan our next actions. I'll call you as soon as we arrive at the secondary base,"_

Riza made a split second decision, "Wait, Roy."

" _What is it?"_

There was a moment of silence before Riza chewed on her lip, "...There is something you need to know. Have you spoken with Lena recently?"

 _"_ _No, why?"_ there was confusion in his voice but he listened attentively.

"I think this will interest you quite a bit," she smiled and giggled.

* * *

"You think the prince had something to do with this?" Hughes asked as they jogged toward where the choppers were hidden.

Ed scoffed, formulating possible theories and plans in his head, "I don't know, it's hard to tell with that bastard. Granted, I've saved his life once or twice so he shouldn't feel all that confident getting tangled up in this war if it means trying to kill me," he growled.

Greed snorted, "Wait, ain't that the snobby, arrogant ass we've visited a couple of times in Bradley's name?" he rose an eyebrow, faintly remembering a tall, brown haired man in his late twenties till early thirties once or twice.

Ed nodded, "Yeah, that's him. His father stepped down and he took over, since then things had been a bit chaotic." He frowned, "Aerugo's suspected of lending small firearms to Drachma,"

Hughes rose an eyebrow, "Despite that claim, where's the point? Drachma has a military might rivaling ours, Aerugo is nowhere near that level, so why should it make a difference if they lend second rate weapons to someone as powerful as Drachma? It doesn't add up Ed,"

Edward frowned, fisting the red material of Aerugo's flag in his hand, "I know, that's why we will have to arrange a meeting to talk things out with Rico. I suspect there's more to this than we think,"

"You mean those were just rumors and Aerugo is being threatened by Drachma?" Greed suggested, staring down at his superior.

"Something like that," they continued walking forward, orientating themselves by the marked trees around them, they were close to the choppers now.

"I thought you'd never come," the voice of the man in uniform sounded a bit smug.

Ed smirked back, "Yeah, you wish," he locked gazes with him, "Mustang,"

Roy smiled.

* * *

"Oh no, no, no what do I do, what do I do, what do I DO?!" Winry kept pacing back and forth, Den's ears flat on his head as he watched his master stress herself.

"Now calm down Winry, I don't see the problem here," Pinako commented as she sipped on her tea, sitting on the couch and scratching Den behind his ears.

"G-Granny, I wrote him that we could video chat! T-that means that we will see each-other! W-what if he doesn't like how I look? What if I don't like how he looks? I know looks are secondary to personality, but since his personality isn't all that great, I mean, he isn't such a big jerk but-"

Pinako laughed, waving her pipe around, "Oh my dear, I suggest you stop worrying so much over it. I've heard he's quite the handsome young man, he was as a young boy anyway," the moment the words left her lips, Winry nearly tripped over her own feet.

"W-what? Wait, you mean to tell me you _knew_ Edward when he was _little_?" Winry ran her hands through her hair frantically, " _Why_ does everyone know him but _me_?!" she groaned and Pinako smirked in amusement, smoking her pipe.

"I recall you've played together a few times Winry, but you were quite young back then, you most certainly forgot." She smiled, "His father and I had been drinking buddies at one time and his mother had been such a lovely woman," she smiled sadly.

Winry perked up at this, "...What happened?" her voice was quiet, as if anticipating what her grandmother was about to tell her.

Pinako frowned, "The plague had caught up to her...back then, Resembool had been nothing more than a simple rural village and medicine had become scarce for folk like us. Edward's father had left after the incident and left Alphonse and Edward in our care for some time." She met Winry's eyes, "...that had been before..." she couldn't bring herself to say it, not even after all these years.

...Before her own parents died in the war.

"Edward had been pretty headstrong and so he left us fairly quickly and went to live alone with his brother in their family home. We haven't had much contact since then, that's why you also never really met him anymore afterwards. Once Edward had come of age, he had joined the military and Alphonse followed after him, just like he always has," Pinako took a long drag out of her pipe, exhaling softly.

Winry's eyes saddened as she fisted the material of her pants, "...What happened to their father?" she looked at her grandmother again.

Pinako smiled dryly, "Ah...Hohenheim...who knows where he is, he may be dead for all I know. He had a penchant for travel I recall and getting himself into trouble, he may have not been the best father in the world, but he always made sure his boys were taken care of. He had left me money to give to the boys, just before they joined the military, so they had financial support in case something went wrong," she chuckled, "That old fool...so heartbroken that he had left.." she shook her head.

Winry frowned, looking down at her hands, "So...you mean their father left because he was so heartbroken over his wife's death?"

Pinako sighed heavily with a heavy heart, "That's what I would like to think, yes." She remained quiet for a moment and that had been the first time Winry saw her be so quiet and still. Usually the woman detested sitting still for a moment, always needing to do something to keep her hands and mind occupied and that had not changed with old age, a fact Winry was grateful for.

"Anyway, make sure to dress up prettily for your date with Edward, wouldn't want him to think I raised a lazy granddaughter," she winked, snickering playfully when Winry's face flushed in embarrassment.

" _G-G-Granny!_ " after several moments of listening to her grandmother's laughter, Winry gave in and started laughing with her, enjoying the familial atmosphere surrounding them.

* * *

"He can't be...Riza said..." Lena stilled, holding the phone in her hand in a death grip, knuckles white from strain.

 _I don't know what happened Lena, I'll investigate into it, but as far as I know, we weren't able to reach them yet._

She grit her teeth, "Not able to reach them yet..." her whisper was met with silence, her thoughts in turmoil.

She wasn't dumb, she had heard the unmistakable sound of a bomb going off. The abrupt cutting of their conversation hadn't been a coincidence either. If they managed to cut off the connection, that would mean their base was directly attacked.

 _Or destroyed._

She whimpered, a part of her shouting at her suspiciously like a drill seargeant to get her shit together and stop whimpering like a baby, that she should trust Greed and the others, they were capable soldiers, otherwise they wouldn't have been sent to the frontlines of this particular war.

Mustang was with them, he was a good strategist, he had his handy pyro abilities too. Hughes was with them, he was the best intelligence officer and strategist she knew, he would plan a route to safety. Kimblee was with them, he was a bit hit in the head, but he could eradicate any enemy their way with a few of his handmade bombs. Alphonse was there too...he was the best medic she heard of, even if there were injured they would be up and about in no time thanks to his expertise. Ed was there too, he had his own unique abilities to aid him in battle, he was a foe to be reckoned with. Ling and Greed too...they were a jumbled mess of idiots sometimes but they were always serious in battle, they would protect each-other.

Despite herself, she giggled and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wiped it away and stared at the moist spot on her palm, eyes narrowing and hands clenching into fists.

"Tch...pathetic...I've got friends in the military and here I am bawling like some baby..." she didn't care that she sounded crazy, talking to herself, nobody was there with her now so she needed to reassure herself. She couldn't go sulking like that, she had her martial arts class to worry about, Greed, her friends...

"Yeah...everything's gonna be fine," she smiled, a dry smile that meant to lift her spirits.

She only felt herself becoming angrier.

And then her phone rang.

* * *

Riza waited patiently for Lena to pick up, eyes briefly scanning over papers she had filled out in case Roy decided he needed more back up.

After the third ring, she finally picked up, her voice slightly raspy, " _What's up sharpshooter?"_ Riza's gaze narrowed and she tightened her grip on her phone.

"Are you alright?" it was the first thing she asked, she knew when someone had been crying, it seemed like Lena was going through tough times, especially considering how she stormed into her office only a few days ago, reporting how the connection between her and Greed had been abruptly cut off by what she suspected to be a bomb.

Riza had tried calling the base multiple times, but the lines were dead.

Only today had hears fears lifted by hearing Roy's steady voice and the assurance that everyone was fine.

" _Yes, of course. What's wrong?"_ she didn't buy it in the slightest, but Riza swore they would talk as soon as work was over.

"I have news. I called Roy and came through, they're all safe. Drachma had surprise ambushed them unexpectedly and the lines had been dead for a while, but there were no casualties. Greed hasn't fully healed yet, but he didn't seem to have sustained any further injuries according to Roy. Edward and the others are fine too," she couldn't help but smile at the slight hitch in her voice when Lena spoke again, relief flooding through her.

" _T-tha-that's great to hear, thank you Riza. Do you know when I'll be able to call them? When it's safe?"_ Riza chuckled.

"Give it a few days time, they've reached the choppers and are heading toward the second base. Until they're settled, it should be alright to contact them. I'll inform you when the time comes, don't worry." Riza smiled hearing Lena's chuckle.

" _Yeah...thanks, I know I can count on you,"_ she giggled, a sound Riza was relieved to hear.

"Good, because as soon as I'm done here we'll talk a bit over a cup of coffee," she grinned cheekily, smirking when she heard Lena's exasperated groan.

" _You_ _ **know**_ _I don't drink coffee often! Only in the morning when I feel like shit,"_ Lena whined, prompting a chuckle to escape the soldier.

"Don't worry, I think I'm willing to allow you to put more sugar in it if it prevents you from nagging me for the rest of the afternoon," she joked playfully, already imagining how sparkling her eyes must be and how bright her smile got.

" _You got yourself a deal, woman, hurry up with work! I ain't growing any younger here!"_ both women laughed at the jabs and jokes and hung up, Riza felt better, the raspy edge to Lena's voice was gone.

She understood her only all too well, but she suspected it was harder for her to accept all of it. Having to wait here while her significant other was risking his life in a war no one was sure would be won by the right side.

Sometimes, Riza asked herself what that "right" side was supposed to be.

* * *

Edward's face was pale white and Hughes had a hunch, "...What? Did you forget to send a letter to Winry?"

Ed shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "I think I asked her if she wanted to video chat with me..." he groaned and Alphonse soothingly patted his brother's shoulder while Greed and Ling guffawed like idiots in the background.

Roy cleared his throat with a barely suppressed smile, "Well, Fullmetal, I suppose it's time I'll have to enlighten you about things concerning women..." Roy was positively amused when Edward reacted just the way he expected.

Red faced and armed with the blunt end of his rifle, Ed mockingly swung it at his superior, "You stupid, perverted pyro maniac! I know about those things! For the love of- I'm twenty-six! Of course I know about _those_ things!" he whacked his superior upside the head.

Alphonse stared at his brother, "...But you never had a girlfriend brother-"

"THAT IS NOT THE POINT AL!" he barked at his younger brother's face, rubbing at his forehead in frustration.

"Anyway, when are we there yet?" Ling suddenly asked from his seat next to Greed, who stared at pictures of Lena in his hands.

Breda scanned their surroundings briefly before answering, "Give it another twenty minutes, we had to choose the longer route to not be spotted," Havoc nodded from beside of him, sunglasses in place, "What are you sitting there for anyway? You can't even fly the bird!" he barked at his blond friend, who just grinned at him.

"Heh, relax Breda I'm just here to look pretty in case we meet some beauties here," he chuckled, the mock straw in his mouth meant to replace his beloved cigarettes, precious cargo that had been destroyed during the surprise attack on their camp.

Mustang sighed and shook his head, "Hey Havoc, try not to drive our only pilot insane would you? Fuery is currently incapacitated to fly," he gestured to the poor, shivering mess just next to their feet, poor Fuery was curled up in a ball, shaking violently and muttering.

Havoc shivered, looking at his friend in sympathy.

"Hey, if I were such a innocent goodie-two-shoes like Fuery I would be scared shitless if someone aimed their gun at my-"

Ed held Al's ears closed, "Hey, younger brothers on board!" he stared pointedly at Greed, who shrugged.

"Meh, there's nothin' he didn't learn from me anyway," Ed slapped his face at the comment and Ling only grinned.

Hughes surprisingly enough was lost in thought, a serious expression on his face as he rested a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"What's wrong Hughes?" Roy's attention was drawn to his friend, it was rare to see him so serious outside the battle field like this.

Hughes glanced at his best friend and clasped his hands together, "I'm thinking...maybe we missed something,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, tightening the bandaged around his bicep, "What do you mean?" the atmosphere in the chopper turned serious again, the playful banter gone now.

Hughes lips formed a thin line, "Edward found a piece of cloth representing the flag of Aerugo on a soldier which we suspect was Aerugo's man dressed as a Drachma soldier. Now, what could Drachma possibly gain by using Aerugo's very limited military power? They have enough soldiers as it is, more powerful ones anyway. Aerugo is located south, Drachma in the north, the path to Drachma is long and dangerous as circumstances are now, they would be suspected of violating our non aggression pact _and_ risking to be arrested." He looked at Roy, "This doesn't make any sense at all,"

Roy hummed thoughtfully, "You may have a point there, Hughes but let's not forget, Aerugo was the one aiding Ishval when we had been at war as well," Hughes frowned.

"That may be Roy, but this is different. These aren't Amestrian citizens that have been wronged, these are powerfully trained and corrupt soldiers controlled by a power hungry man that shares a bitter one sided rivalry with Bradley." Ed's eyes widened slightly, he wasn't used to hearing Hughes speaking like that, so frank and slightly harsh. But he couldn't deny it was the truth.

"You're saying Drachma plans on erasing the other countries off the map to claim more territory for themselves?" Greed's voice penetrated the air, frowning at the ridiculous thought.

Roy bit his lip, "Maybe not erase...but bring under their control,"

"But...wouldn't it sacrifice many innocent lives?" Alphonse suddenly voiced his thoughts, "I mean, if Drachma really is planning on taking over the other countries, they would have to go to war with them too, right? That would only lead to more pointless deaths!" Ed's expression softened at his brother's words, not denying the truth in them.

Roy nodded, "You're right Alphonse, it _is_ insane..." his gaze narrowed, "...insane enough for a man like him anyway," he sighed, white gloves clenching into tight fists.

Havoc turned his head slightly to address everyone, "Don't get your panties in a twist, once we're there we have to set up camp and gather the troops and think of a way to pay them back for making us run with our tails between our legs," he reached into his pocket out of habit and meant to pull out a cigarette, then remembered his recent, painful loss and started sniffling quietly next to Breda, who only rolled his eyes at the passionate smoker.

* * *

 _A month later..._

Edward smiled, re-reading her letter over and over again and finishing up with logging into Greed's account on skype.

" _Finally, I guess I...I guess we will see each-other now for real..."_ he thought with a small smile, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair.

Greed had _kindly_ offered to provide his account for their video chats, at least until Edward had set up an account of his own.

And now the time was finally there.

After half a year, they would be able to see each-other, funny, to Ed it seemed a bit longer than that, maybe because of how they would bicker back and forth between letters, how his friends teased him mercilessly, the war that waged on, her letters that made a smile magically appear on his face...

It was nice...having a friend.

A friend outside of this whole thing. Outside of war and the military, one where he could talk to about _normal_ things and she had friends from the military too, which meant he could also talk to her about that without scaring her, she had made that pretty clear from the start.

And when he finally found her on skype, clicked on the "Video call" button and the window opened, he waited with baited breath, lungs ceasing to function for the moment, brain racing a mile a minute, eyes fixated on the black screen with the loading sign on it and then...

" _Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?"_ an image of a pretty blonde young woman in overalls greeted him and it made Ed chuckle, she froze for a brief second, having heard him before nervously and shyly glancing at the camera she readjusted so it rested straight perched on top of her laptop.

"Hey," and he smiled.

" _Hey_ ," came her reply and her voice was the sweetest thing he ever heard until now.

 **CLIFFHANGER! T_T** Sorry my people, but I plan on dedicating the next chapter entirely to our two lovies! ;) **BTW** : What do you think of Greed's "real" name? Is it lame? T_T


	20. Hello from the other side

Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! It hasn't been too long now has it? :)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Shadow Ackerman:** haha thanks so much! :)

 **QuinzMoon:** haha Sure thing it does, I suggest looking it up in Japanese! ;) It does have a meaning and it's pretty easy too (it's not the most original one I've come up with, but I thought the name sounded nice when I tried it). Haha Hughes, huh? Well, I can't really say, after all I plan to do a lot of twists and turns in this story, for however long she will continue anyway. Thank you so much for the nice compliments :3 Exams start on Monday and I have ALL three exams on the same day..let's just hope I'll pull through .

 **GrumpyCatWriter101:** hahaha No, no, don't worry, you have a right to state your opinion whatever it is, don't worry I'm not mad :) ;) Besides, I thought it was lame in the beginning too, but the more time passed, the more I thought it actually rolled of the tongue nicely idk :P Besides the obvious meaning anyway...(just try typing synonyms for the word 'greed' in Japanese, you'll see what I mean ;)

 **Lily:** haha Thanks Lily :)

 **Sherlsepeare:** Oh in the morning? I'm sorry I just saw this one :P haha Thank you, I'll gladly take that as a compliment :) To be honest, I almost felt guilty for all the hype around it because it wasn't that of a 'cool' name and since in this story he is Ling's brother he would have to have something sounding like Xingese so...yeah. XD (blinks slowly) Ah...really? Wow, thank you so much! *.* haha Well, I try, but honestly I can't write humor good either :P

 **BlueRedRose:** haha hey there! Welcome to my story! ^^ Thank you so much, I was afraid I wrote Riza a bit too OOC in some chapters T_T Thanks for the wishes, the practical exams are thankfully over (and I passed YES!) but I still got three exams to do on Monday .

* * *

 **Hello from the other side**

 _Previously on Letters from War..._

 _"_ _Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?" an image of a pretty blonde young woman in overalls greeted him and it made Ed chuckle, she froze for a brief second, having heard him before nervously and shyly glancing at the camera she readjusted so it rested straight perched on top of her laptop._

 _"_ _Hey," and he smiled._

 _"_ _Hey," came her reply and her voice was the sweetest thing he ever heard until now._

Winry had to take a minute to compose herself, because she had nearly gotten a heart attack from the distinctively _male_ chuckle she heard from the screen before a picture finally appeared.

And boy...did it appear.

Winry was very thankful that the soldier, _Ed_ , didn't seem to notice the fierce blush overtaking her entire face at the sight of him.

In truth, she hadn't really known what to expect. All she had to go by on his appearance was that maybe he was a bit similar to Alphonse, since they were brothers, that he had gold eyes and hair and that was that. She had thought his features would mirror those of the kind, softer Alphonse but...

 _Damn._

She shook her head, clearing her throat in what she hoped was a believable act of trying to dispel the dryness in it as she took him in.

He was dressed in typical soldier's garb, but whether intentional or not, the uniform wasn't as loose as she had thought, it was form fitting but not so to look suffocating. It was green, as opposed to the color blue she usually saw Amestrian soldiers in, and she had to admit it complimented his eyes slightly. His eyes...were a striking, sharp gold, she felt as if those very eyes could pierce her soul, as if looking right through her and for one reason or another, she felt self conscious in her stupid overalls, damn work outfit.

A word popped into her mind she heard Lena and occasionally even sweet Mei utter once or twice about their significant others, he was ' _ripped'_. Quickly shaking her head to banish the thoughts suddenly swarming her mind at the suggestive word, she quickly moved her eyes away from his torso.

She noted how his eyes weren't as rounded and big as those of his brother, they looked almost hardened, as if they have seen far too much for his age, which they probably did.

He had gold bangs on either side of his face, his hair seemed to be long as opposed to his brother's very short one, though she could see that it wasn't as long as she thought, he had a short...braid at the back of his neck. Despite having the hairstyle of a girl, he looked... _alright._

She would never admit it, would never be caught _dead_ admitting it, maybe it was the fact she hadn't had a date in...a long time, but she couldn't deny the slight stubble on his chin and the way his uniform stretched over his arms and chest didn't cause her eyes to be magically drawn to them.

She snapped out of it, intent on not appearing as some pervert that ogled him like she never saw a man before.

Shyly, she waved at him, awkwardness filling her quickly, "Hey Ed," she smiled in relief when his expression broke into a kind smile too, it made him appear younger for some reason.

" _Hey Winry,"_ the next heart attack she quite nearly suffered was when she heard his voice.

Granny would be telling her it has been far too long since she last had a date. And maybe the old woman was right.

She didn't know why, but his voice was deep but not too deep and it had a soothing quality to it that calmed her nerves slightly. He seemed...happy to see her.

She hoped she hadn't dressed too ugly nor look like she put too much effort into looking presentable. In truth, she had got so caught up in work that she had no time to ponder much on her wardrobe, so she sat at her laptop in the same clothes she had been working a car earlier on with.

" _You look horrible,"_ that was the second thing that came out of his mouth and she barely stopped the wrench from crashing into her computer, opting to swing it threateningly at it instead.

"YOU IDIOT! I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT A CAMERA JUST TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE!" she growled, noticing with some satisfaction the sweat rolling down his face.

Ed cleared his throat, laughing, " _BUT YOU SAID MY EYES WERE SEXY!"_ he hollered into the computer and Winry covered her mouth, face going red.

" _Oi, I didn't lend you my stuff to play naughty soldier on it! Get the hell of my laptop!"_ she could hear a familiar voice growl from the background, before what she deduced was Greed attempted to drag Ed away from the laptop, who fought back as if this was routine for them.

" _No fair! I got here first! You said I could use it!"_ she could heard how Edward complained and she couldn't deny she didn't like his voice...somewhat.

" _Under the condition of not getting dirty with your girl! Seriously, have you no shame? Lena and I are using it too for hell's sake!"_ Greed growled, glaring frostily at Ed before obliviously turning to the screen toward Winry and waving casually as if he didn't just attempt to kill Ed, " _Oh hey there, you're that blonde mechanic chic right? Lena said something about you needing a boyfriend eh? Well, this guy's the perfect candidate!"_ he pointed toward Ed, who kicked him rather roughly in the knee, but that absolutely had no effect on him and she briefly wondered just how durable soldiers really were.

Greed casually got a chair from somewhere and plopped down right in front of the screen, rogue grin in place, " _So, where's my badass princess huh? Haven't heard from her since a few days ago, how is she? Is she alright? Does she miss me? I bet she does, of course she misses me I'm her boyfriend,"_ Winry frowned, already wondering how Lena could possibly endure Greed's rants if they were anything like this.

But suddenly, his expression grew a bit more serious and the serious, deeper tone of his voice startled her, " _Is she doing alright then?"_ she could see he was worried and she never really considered Greed to be much of a worrisome person.

She cleared her throat, "Um...y-yes, she's fine. She's taken some time off from work but she's fine, she visits me almost every day and keeps me company," Winry smiled, "She talks fondly of you, but I think you should call her as soon as possible, she seemed a lot more worried these past few days but I didn't have the opportunity to ask yet," Winry smiled reassuringly.

Greed contemplated this, " _...Damn...I'll be a dead man and that's not because of this war I tell ya..."_ without another word, Greed got up and speed walked away from the screen, she watched Ed's perplexed expression as he looked after Greed, probably heeding her advice to call Lena.

" _Um...right,"_ Ed shook his head and she watched slightly transfixed the way his bangs moved with the movements of his head, " _Alright, back to my sexy eyes woman,"_ Winry rolled her eyes, fingers itching to grab her wrench.

"Would you shut up about that?! It was _you_ that even started it! I just said I liked your eyes, that's all!" she huffed, crossing her arms defensively.

When she peered back at the screen, she could see a grin on his face, his voice turned just a bit softer, " _Heh, yeah I guess I did, huh?"_ there was something Winry identified as awkwardness coming from him before he spoke again, " _Uh, you really like my eyes?"_

She tried playing it cool, composing herself, tried to appear as confident like he was a few moments ago, "Hm, well I can't really see them all that well so I wouldn't know," she smirked, mentally patting herself on the back for her counter attack.

Something akin to recognition dawned in Ed's eyes before he suddenly moved his face closer to the camera, gold eyes coming closer and closer to view and Winry felt nervous all over again, like a school girl, " _That better miss mechanic?"_

Winry subtly swallowed, leaning in to directly look into the unbelievably golden irises, his pupils were dark and the gold color surrounding them had something beautiful about them Winry never saw before. She never saw anyone with gold eyes before she had met Alphonse, but his seemed just a bit brighter than his brothers and she already found she was lost in them.

" _Like them?"_ she was startled out her reverie by Ed's voice, whom she still had to get used to, as he leaned away from the camera and chuckled at her apparent startle, " _Sorry, didn't mean to scare you,"_

She huffed, he seemed sincere but she wasn't buying that for a second, she turned her head to look at him though when Ed suddenly said, " _Can I see your eyes too?"_

Forcing herself to act normal, Winry carefully leaned forward so her eyes were looking straight into the camera and she blushed when she heard a faint whisper, " _Wow...so blue..._ "

When she returned the camera back to its original place on top of her laptop, she found him grinning, " _They're like the sky,"_ Winry smiled bashfully, all of a sudden feeling like a school girl getting compliments.

"T-thanks Ed and yours are...well...like gold," she laughed and Ed joined in her laughter, running a hand through his hair.

" _Thanks, Winry,"_ he smiled and she smiled back.

* * *

 _Shit._

Was all he thought the first time he saw her on the screen.

He didn't really know what he imagined, he had asked Al if he ever heard of a Winry Rockbell in Resembool before and he reminded him she was the girl they used to play with sometimes that lived just a few houses down their own.

Ed had asked him what else he remembered and Al just waggled his eyebrows suggestively and teased him if he just wanted to know if she was pretty. Ed had snorted and decisively marched into the tent to call her on skype.

That hadn't answered his question at all but...still...he remembered everything he knew about her, concerning appearance anyway. Blue eyes, blonde hair.

Was it short? Long? Curly? Straight? He would have pulled a 'typical blonde' comment on her, but he was blond himself and he had the idea she wasn't dumb, tinkering with mechanics and machines like she was wasn't an all too easy job.

He tried envisioning how she may look like but only rubbish came out that way. He had found himself face palming in frustration at the weird images he had conjured up, either she was too tall or too short, dressed to flashily or too rundown, or she...well...was too...buxom...

He groaned, burying his face in his hands, he certainly didn't need to _even go there_. When he tried grilling Lena for some answers, she didn't offer much, just kept mercilessly teasing him, but thankfully she had enough sense not to tell Greed he asked about how Winry looked like. She knew exactly how Greed would make his life hell if he did, along with Ling, who was annoying in a league of his own.

Just minutes before he had set everything up, he tried bracing himself, kept telling himself he cared more for intellect instead of physical aspects, after all, he himself wasn't a looker. Absentmindedly, he grabbed at _the_ arm, but shook the feeling off and made sure it was properly covered before his mind wandered back to Winry.

From the letters they had traded back and forth, she was a simple but interesting woman. She had a knack for mechanics, certainly not something he really saw every day. He gathered from her complicated explanations about engines that she was smart, but she also wasn't dumb when it came to other daily things. He did learn however that she thought of herself not to be the best cook, but she said that she always got her apple pies right. For a minute, he chuckled to himself, running a hand down his face, imagining a ghost of a smile on a woman's face he couldn't even picture clearly, just vague outlines and could-be speculations.

When he actually saw her on screen, he was surprised to see her dressed in overalls and a black undershirt from what he could see, a screwdriver was poking out of the breast pocket, oil smudges here and there but not too dirty, a green bandanna was tired around her hair to keep it out of her face, blue eyes the color of the sky, a clear face and blonde bangs covering her forehead partly that reminded him of Hawkeye's bangs. She had a friendly face and he couldn't help but automatically smile when he saw it.

Alphonse also reminded him that Pinako was her grandmother, after all there weren't many people with the surname "Rockbell" in Resembool anyway. He remembered the tiny old hag quite clearly, always picking trivial fights with her over their respective tiny heights, while he had been just a runt and she well over the years of sixty.

Years had passed since then and he wondered how she was doing, she had been a annoying pint sized grandma from time to time, but she had cooked them warm meals when he and Al had lost their parents and read them bedtime stories and came to them at night when they suffered from nightmares. He never thought ill of her, he had picked fights with other children from the village who called her a old hag, even if he himself had done it. A fond smile stretched over his lips and he made a mental note to ask how the old woman was doing after all this time.

No doubt she would grill him alive once she saw him, whether on screen or in person but then a dark thought interrupted his musings.

... _If_ she ever had the chance to anyway.

And suddenly, so easily, he was reminded _where_ he was and he stubbornly pushed down the thoughts of possible reunions to the far back of his mind, where all other happy thoughts of family and the like were buried deep beneath things he liked to call 'rational thinking' and 'reality's kick to the ass'.

He shook his head and tried to imagine what Winry's voice was like. Was it high? Deep? Too deep? Somewhere in the middle? What _was_ the middle?

He shook his head, groaning in frustration, maybe Al was right, maybe he _was_ over thinking things. It's been a while since he last talked with a girl that wasn't in uniform or one of his enemies, of course anyone would be a bit nervous. She was funny, intelligent and she wasn't afraid to call him out when he had one of his tantrums, which she soon learned were just a personality trait. Ever since becoming a soldier, not many really dared to do that anymore, it was a refreshing change.

But when he actually saw her, heard her giggle, saw her smile, saw her blue, blue eyes...it made him want to laugh at himself for being so stupid and being nervous.

Winry wasn't complicated, she wasn't a woman who spent too much time on her choice of clothes, at least that's the impression he got on her for the past few months.

They talked about this and that, talking about Resembool and their friends and for the funny fact that they never met each-other despite having so many mutual friends. They shared laughs, jokes and even a few suggestive lines, most though coming from Edward and Winry countering either with her wrench or a clever remark herself. He didn't know why he behaved the way he did, some called it flirting but he didn't think too much of it, after all she was his friend and nothing more.

" _Granny scared poor Johnny to the point he came up with some lame excuse just to flee the garage,"_ Winry shook her head, blonde hair following the movement gently, " _Sometimes, I wonder for her sanity..."_ she laughed to herself, smiling as she did so. Ed laughed quietly, gaze softening.

"...How...how is she?" he leaned back in his chair, content to just watch Winry talking, it was a weird, unfamiliar feeling, that feeling of peace and tranquility, but it wasn't unwelcome.

She blinked before smiling, " _Granny's fine, for her advanced age she is as active as she can get. I wish she would cut off on smoking that old pipe of hers completely but I guess old habits die hard,"_ Ed smirked, ah right, the pipe, he remembered he would see the old woman smoke her pipe at her veranda sometimes when she was exasperated with him and other times he thought she was lost in memories.

"That's...good to hear, haven't heard from that old hag in a while," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. The words sounded genuine and even caring to Winry's ears, so she stopped herself from reprimanding him for the 'old hag' comment, it had made her curious how Ed even knew her grandma so well.

" _Say Ed..."_ gold eyes fixed themselves on her in response, " _How comes you know granny so well? I don't really remember you in my childhood...or Alphonse for that matter..."_ she played with her fingers sheepishly, seeming embarrassed.

Ed smiled, "Heh, can't blame you Winry, I don't actually remember you too, Al remembers vaguely but that's that. Pinako used to cook us warm meals and tuck us into bed after..." he stopped, his mouth forming a thin line as he contemplated to tell her.

Winry read the mood and immediately held her hands up, " _Ah, I u-understand Ed, please you don't have to say anything,"_ her expression softened in understanding, " _I understand..."_ there was something in her voice that suggested she did really know what he was about to say, that she really did understand and he shook his head.

The air fell quiet around them, something Ed wasn't all too comfortable with, so he tried again on a more cheery note, "Hm, what's it like being a mechanic? I doubt men really treat you fair despite your skills," he smiled, trying to show he meant no harm with his comment.

Winry huffed, " _It's not always easy I admit, but I made a name for myself, at least concerning Central and Rush Valley oh and Resembool too of course. I still get some weird letters from time to time, claiming that some other mechanics would want to compete with me in automail competitions to see who's better,"_ she sighed.

Ed rose an eyebrow, leaning on his forearms, "...Automail competitions?" there was a moment of silence, before he suddenly burst out laughing, resting his forehead against his forearms as his body shook with laughter.

Automail competitions... _HA!_

 _"_ _And what's so funny about that?!"_ the annoyed tone in Winry's voice didn't go unnoticed, but Ed just laughed harder, clutching his stomach when he straightened up to look at her through bleary eyes.

"Automail competitions? You automail freaks have competitions for _that_? Oh geez..." Ed chuckled, shaking off the drowsy effects from laughing so hard, his stomach ought to hurt after laughing so hard...

Winry crossed her arms, fixing him with a scathing, semi-playful glare, " _You nut! Automail is the best thing in the world! I can't believe you can't appreciate fine art like that!"_

Ed grinned slowly, crossing his own arms, feeling a spark of challenging emotions within him, "Oh? Fine art huh? You want to hear what's fine art?" he cocked his head, smiling, " _Alchemy!"_

Winry slowly blinked, before _she_ burst into laughter, wiping at her eyes as tears fell from them and for the love of him Ed couldn't find the reason she was laughing for.

"Hey...hey! Why are _you_ laughing?!" Ed peered at the screen, trying to give her the same scathing glare she gave him earlier.

Winry tried hard to compose herself again, but after a few failed attempts, she reduced her laughter to small giggles, " _I...I can't...I just can't believe you would go comparing automail and alchemy! Those are two completely different things Edward!"_

Ed snorted, crossing his arms, "Of course it is, alchemy _rocks_!"

" _...How old are you? Five?"_ Winry hid a smile behind her hand when Ed scoffed stubbornly, looking off to the side, fighting off a small smile.

"Anyway, alchemy's pretty cool once you study it long enough and learn of its secrets and what it has to offer. It's similar to learning an ancient, dead language not many people know but you have the privilege to know and explore it further," his sudden eloquence stunned Winry, he could see, and he couldn't help but grin proudly when she leaned in.

" _Wait...did you actually study alchemy? You went to university? But how? Riza told me you were a soldier for a while now,"_ Winry scratched her head, utterly confused, doing the math in her head again. That was impossible...he was pretty young, there was no way he could have finished university and become a soldier...he would have needed to be in his mid till late thirties to do that.

Ed chuckled, "I finished university at twenty before joining the state military, Mustang was pretty convincing and I guess that's how I joined," he shrugged nonchalantly and Winry's eyes flew open.

" _At twenty?! You finished university at twenty?!"_ she blinked multiple times, " _Riza did mention you were pretty smart but...well...wow."_ Ed felt a twinge of pride settling in the pit of his stomach but he just smiled at her.

"Now don't be so shy, I heard you finished early too and became a mechanic early on instead of becoming a doctor or something like that," Ed grinned at Winry's perplexed expression.

" _How did you know that?"_ she tilted her head to the side curiously and Ed found the action...not cute but something similar.

"I did a small background check on you miss mechanic," he smirked, seemingly proud of himself, "Guess the military can be good for something,"

Winry scoffed, " _No fair, I can't do any background checks on you, creepy stalker,"_

Ed shook his head, laughing, "Yeah, right, I'm pretty famous in Central, ask any woman on the street and they'll know me," he winked playfully, feeling slightly bashful at his behavior.

Winry snorted, " _Uh huh, right."_ She sighed, rolling her eyes before they widened at something he couldn't see, " _Oh no,"_

Ed rose an eyebrow, seriousness creeping back into his voice, thinking something might have happened, "What? What is it?"

Winry looked back at him apologetically, " _Um, I'm really sorry Edward, but I completely lost track of time and I still didn't finish that automail leg I was working on,"_ she ran a hand down her face.

Ed froze, pupils shrinking in size as he processed her words, _'automail leg'._ He swallowed, _hard_.

"...Automail leg?" he was careful to mask his initial emotions when he asked her this.

Winry looked innocently at him, " _Oh yeah, I told you I was a automail engineer, I also repair automail limbs from time to time. I guess I've gotten good with it over time and I'm trying to change designs and add a few more useful features into them,"_ she smiled, oblivious to Ed's surprise.

"I see," he clicked his tongue, feeling dryness settle in his throat.

" _Everything alright?"_ Winry looked worried when she noticed his strange behavior.

Ed straightened, "Fine," his voice came out a little harsher than he intended it to and he hoped he didn't startle her, "Sorry, just uh, talk to you later? I have a mission soon," he smiled.

Winry blinked before smiling back, nodding quietly, " _Mhm, yeah, let's say at nine? Sounds good?"_

Ed grinned, feeling slightly more at ease, "Sounds perfect to me," he chuckled at the shy look she suddenly got.

" _R-right, well, see you later then..."_ she paused as if to consider something, before sticking her tongue out at him and saying, " _Alchemy freak!"_

Ed froze briefly and before he could reply back, the screen closed and so did the image of Winry.

Ed sat there in the chair for a couple of minutes more, before a small, slow smile stretched over his face and he shook his head.

"Alchemy freak, huh?" he smirked, shaking his head.

"Sounds like a nice pet name don't you think, brother?" Ed jumped in his seat and promptly fell off his chair when he attempted to turn around and regard his smug brother, who was leaning against a wooden beam supporting the tent, smiling wickedly, like a Cheshire cat.

 _"_ _A-A-ALPHONSE!"_ Ed's roar sent the younger Elric fleeing the scene, laughing as he heard another loud crash and soon heard his elder brother's footsteps thundering after him.

For a man that used to be the size of a midget at age seventeen, he sure could run fast.

* * *

The atmosphere was dark and filled with smoke, scantily clad women prancing about the bar, enticing welcoming customers as they followed them with their eyes at the seductive sway of their hips.

One of those women smoothly walked toward a middle aged, rather burly woman with dark hair and hardened eyes stationed at the bar, talking to another customer. The young woman leaned down close to her boss' ear and whispered something into it, the elderly woman's eyes hardened and she turned her back to the bar counter, discreetly accepting a slip of paper the girl working for her slipped between her fingers from the inside of her black, nearly see through brassiere with flowery patterns.

The woman in charge, Chris Mustang, or better known under her alias Madam Christmas, slipped unnoticed to the back of the bar, closing the door softly shut behind her and slipping the piece of paper out of the inside pocket of her coat.

When she opened it, her eyes narrowed further, "...Who are you?"

There was a picture on it, it showed a man somewhere in his late twenties to early thirties, with abnormally long, very long dark hair that was styled into spikes, a grim look on his face and something decisively evil in his eyes, violet ones.

She frowned and quietly whispered the name written under it.

" _Envy_ ," the name seemed to echo within the crowded bar and yet it sent a shiver running down her spine as she turned to one of her approaching girls.

"Give me the phone," the girl nodded and quickly handed her the dark telephone, Madam Christmas nodded in thanks before quickly dialing a number she had become very familiar with over the past few years.

" _Hello?"_ the deeper voice of a woman was heard on the other end of the line.

She didn't hesitate, "We got a lead,"

The briefest time of silence passed before the woman asked, slightly startled, " _You work fast. Do you recognize him?"_

Chris Mustang looked down again at the picture, at the roguish grin and evil violet eyes, "No,"

" _Who is he?"_

The madam clicked her tongue, cigarette put out in a nearby ashtray stylized in a deep burgundy red made from glass, "The lad's name is...Envy,"

 _"_ _One of the seven deadly sins,"_ Riza muttered, stunned.

Madam Christmas frowned darkly, "Exactly,"

The picture of Envy was swallowed by the burning hot flames of the lighter, fire engulfing the paper as Envy's sneering face and evil eyes burned to ash.

"What do you suppose we do?" she frowned, watching as the embers from the ashes glowed a dull red and orange, the only reminder that something, possibly a picture, was burned in the ashtray.

" _Are your lines safe?"_ Riza knew she didn't need to ask, she knew they were safe, but she just had to make sure.

Madam Christmas smirked, "As safe as any brothel's lines are, deary," she grinned, chuckling.

* * *

Well, now Envy caught the attention of Madam Christmas too! **What do you think will happen next with this newfound info?** Thanks for reading everyone!


	21. Another Sin

I have about a million sticky notes plastered all over my wall with messily written notes about new chapters, chapter titles, twists and turns in future events and very special events I plan on writing for when the climax of the war really hits! ;) I hope as the story progresses, I won't bore you :)

Also, **I should note** , I'm planning to write an "escape" chapter, meaning Ed and the others will sooner or later make a risky decision of staying and dying or escaping just barely out of the warzone. You'll see what I mean in future chapters (later)! :)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Unlucky Alis:** Thank you so much! And welcome to the story btw! ^^ As for your question, I've planned to expose that little tidbit once Winry and Edward meet and foreshadow the encounter with a few talks between Ed and his brother as the story progresses. As I've written before, Ed gaining his automail had something to do with an accident and the operation had been very difficult to recover from. All I can say is, he still feels those "phantom pains" of losing his limbs and seeing his automail as "a mark of shame". He himself doesn't want to admit it, the fact that his leg and arm aren't made from flesh, so in order to better cope with the trauma, he just refers to them as _that arm_ or _that leg_ because he views himself as a monster. I hope my answer helped and didn't confused you too much! Haha BTW: Thanks for complimenting my OC Lena, I've been panicking if I was writing her into a Mary Sue character! O.O

 **Sherlsepeare:** haha Yeah, that's what I meant. Both Ed and Mustang have studied the subject actually, however Mustang had other classes in university as well but Ed's main one had been primarily alchemy. It's actually connected to his strained relationship with his father, his father never expressed disagreement with what his son studied but Ed thought he did and kept his knowledge of alchemy a secret. He thought by joining the army that (also to protect his brother...etc.) that he could prove he was above/better than his father.

 **Enjoy! ;)**

* * *

 **Another Sin**

Madam Christmas motioned for one of her girls to occupy another customer in case anyone went asking for her, before she focused her full attention to the conversation at hand, watching the dying embers fade to a dull orange and then turn completely black.

"Our first lead had been that intelligence officer, Lust. Our second lead is Envy, I suspect he's involved with the military somehow. All I've gotten was a photo, nothing else," stern eyes cast a fleeting glance to the ashtray on her table, "What do you think? A cult?"

The time Riza took to answer suggested her skepticism, " _I doubt it's quite a cult, perhaps a group devoid of religious beliefs. There's another thing however Roy found on his end at the base,"_

Interested raised ever so slightly at hearing the name of her nephew, Madam Christmas pressed the phone harder against her ear, "What did he find?"

" _They've secured a soldier weeks ago, but he escaped. We think somebody helped him escape, since the soldier has shown no prior motivation to escape the cell he had been confined in. Roy has tried interrogating him, but to no avail, his speech is slow and strained. Roy said Edward recognized a weird tattoo on his uniform, under the insignia of the State Military,"_ Madam Christmas frowned darkly, dreadful anticipation growing in the pit of her stomach.

Riza paused before continuing, " _The soldier's name is Sloth, we suspect one of his allies helped him escape from the cell,"_ a chill ran down Madam Christmas' spine.

" _A tattoo? Riza said it wasn't a cult, but rather a non religious group of some sort. First came Lust, then Envy, now Sloth, if my suspicions are right, there would be four more of them-"_ her thoughts were interrupted by a startling realization.

"Wait a minute, what's that spitfire boyfriend's name again? Ya know, the one who calls you sharpshooter and does martial arts." a ill feeling befell her and she didn't know if it was anything good she was about to discover.

" _Lena's boyfriend? His name is Greed, why are you-?"_ Riza's confused but alerted voice echoed in her ears, particularly the name. The sharp hitch in breath she detected told her Riza had discovered the same thing she did or at least suspected it.

Greed.

The sin of avarice.

One of the seven deadly sins.

The fourth sin.

"I don't think you'll like this," Riza wasn't sure she liked the tone Roy's aunt had as she said this.

" _What did you discover?"_ Riza's voice was filled with concern but underlined with suspicion, suspicion that her own assumptions were, in fact, very true.

Madam Christmas rubbed her forehead, piecing together the pieces, "Do you think that Greed character is in allegiance with the rest of those sins? He's a part of the military lot and now his 'siblings' are too. I'm smelling a mutiny," her eyes narrowed, eyes returning to the ashtray.

Riza's sharp intake of breath could be clearly heard through the phone, " _Greed planning a mutiny? That's impossible, we've already had a ordeal a few weeks back, he's sworn loyalty to us and he's unaware of his siblings being a part of the military, at least their full roles in them. He doesn't know anything madam, trust me,"_ Riza's voice was firm and unrelenting, prompting the older woman to sigh and momentarily bury the thought.

"If you say so deary, I trust your judgment. Now what did you say, what sort of tattoo was that?" she rose an eyebrow, chewing on the end of her cigarette.

" _Edward said the tattoo was of a dragon eating its own tail, he said it was the symbol for immortality,"_ the cigarette slowly fell from her opened mouth, dark slanted eyes wide in surprise at the new information.

Madam Christmas' expression grew grim, "Aye...immortality and seven deadly sins of humanity, I don't imagine that goes quite hand in hand," sharp eyes moved toward the map laid out on the table beside her, "There's more to discuss, I'll be waiting for you to come,"

" _Yes, ma'am,"_ with that both women hung up.

Chris Mustang sighed, lighting a new cigarette and blowing out long dragged puffs of smoke, vision clouded every so often with smoke and the smell of her precious cigarettes.

Immortality, sins, the war...this war wasn't going to be like anything they've dealt before, of that she was sure. But why would a bunch of brats call themselves after sins? To what purpose? What goal did they have in mind? And why the symbol?

She leaned back in her chair, the old wood creaking beneath her weight as she felt a soft, warm hand of one of her girls placed on her shoulder, "What is it, sweetie?"

The younger woman, one that hasn't been all that long with them as of yet, leaned down and whispered in her madam's ear, "Your nephew is here, madam,"

Her eyes widened in shock and her teeth tightened around her cigarette, a look of distrust in her eyes, "I'm comin',"

She pushed open the heavy door leading to the kitchen, greeted by the familiar dim lightning of her bar and her girls and their customers mingling around.

When she turned to her right to address who could possibly look like her nephew, who was currently fighting in a war, her eyes narrowed.

There, sitting with a glass of scotch in his hand, sat Roy Mustang, expression calm and a smirk on his face, his voice was undoubtedly his, "Hello there, madam," he nodded in greeting, taking a sip of his drink.

Chris Mustang smiled, taking a seat just in front of her nephew, falling back into their ordinary banter, "What brings you here, _brat_? I thought you were fighting in a war," she schooled her features into her usual expression of strictness and disinterest and Roy smiled, leaning in slightly.

"Various networks do come in handy once in a while," and as he sipped his drink and one of her girls looked at her nervously, she smirked.

"Say, since when do you drink scotch?" her red painted lips stretched into a lazy smirk when her nephew's eyes widened only a fraction before he cleared his throat.

"I suppose war changes a man's tastes," he replied coolly, locking gazes with her steadily.

Chris Mustang smirked, "Hm, I suppose they do, deary." She watched him drink the dark contents of his drink a little too quickly, "I suppose they do," the smirk never left her face.

* * *

Mornings in camp were mostly chaotic.

When Ling would shout, " _Greed, what the hell did you do to my toothbrush again?!"_ and said man would be sporting a very evil, very nasty smirk, everyone agreed that a peaceful morning for that day was officially over.

Waking time was around five thirty, six would be bathroom and hygienic duties, six thirty sharp was breakfast and on seven was morning training consisting of long runs, quick sparring sessions, shooting lessons and discussion of military operations and the enemies' movements.

"Oi, getting old _General_?" Greed grinned when Mustang shot him a dark look, his hands balanced on his knees to try and catch his breath from their exhausting morning run.

"Very funny, Greed, perhaps I should double your usual morning runs," he smirked when Greed frowned, marching away resolutely and continuing his training.

They sparred regularly together, constantly exposing each-other's weaknesses to advise them what to improve when it came to a real battle and strengthening their strong points.

"Greed, you have to work on your speed more," Roy instructed, eyes focusing on the movement of Greed's legs.

Greed moved into position and smirked, "I'm from Xing, General, if you don't have speedy legs you won't get far there," Roy rose an eyebrow but before he could retort, he just barely blocked Greed's frontal kick, mildly surprised by the ferocious strength and speed behind the movement.

"Oof!" Roy's feet slid slightly across the dirt, hands quivering from blocking Greed's strike.

The soldier grinned, retracting his limb, "See? Told you I was-"

Roy smirked when his incoming fist connected with Greed's hard stomach, "Eyes on the enemy, soldier," he tapped Greed's bowed head, the man wheezed, clutching his stomach.

"Heh...yeah," he coughed, straightening up after he regained the breath that had been knocked from him, "Ah, general?"

Roy turned his head from drinking from his water bottle, "What is it?"

Greed smirked, "Eyes on the enemy, _soldier_ ,"

There was a breeze, a breeze he shouldn't be feeling so clearly and when Roy looked down, it was all the answer he needed.

"... _Greed,_ " the muttered name was filled with murderous intent as Roy bent to pick up his pants, hastily pulling them up and buckling his belt again.

The man snickered, already walking away to see how his brother was fairing with training.

Roy sighed, gulping down another healthy mouthful of the clear, tasteless liquid and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand after he was finished.

He leaned against one of the wooden beams supporting a tent, watching how his team were faring in training.

Over on Edward's side, it looked like the young Lieutenant General used Ling as his latest practice dummy. The agile Xingese man evaded nearly all of his attacks, yet some struck and he didn't miss the wince coming from Ling, followed by a apology from Edward. Poor Alphonse suffered the same fate as the Xingese man and was used as target practice for none other than his best friend Maes, who kept launching lethal throwing knives at the shivering medic until all color drained from his face and he looked like he needed a blood transfusion.

Shaking his head, his eyes landed on his own team, sparring together in sync and well in tune with each-other's movements, honed from years of practicing and fighting together on the front lines like they did. He smiled fondly, sighing in contempt.

His thoughts wandered to his wife, how she was doing sitting in that stuffy office as opposed to being in the battlefield...he closed his eyes...he knew it was for the best, but he still missed her...dearly so.

* * *

Riza looked behind herself, glancing at the oddly familiar stranger in confusion that had just finished a conversation with Madam Christmas and walked out, unable to see his face clearly beneath his hat. She certainly recognized those broad shoulders, the long, even strides and the short dark hair creeping from beneath the man's hood. She turned to look at Madam Christmas in confusion, "A customer of yours?" she looked at the slightly scantily clad women around, others clad more modestly than the ones working part time in the brothel stationed here.

The elder woman smirked and shook her head, putting out her cigarette, "More like an impostor, dear," Riza's eyebrow arched.

"An impostor of whom?"

Madam Christmas frowned, "Get Roy on the line,"

* * *

Alphonse nearly tripped over a unconscious Ling on his way to rush towards the telephone that had been ringing for the past few seconds, glancing back to wonder why on earth he was on the forest floor.

A quick look towards his brother, who was giving a punching bag, which consisted of hay and grass bound by leather hanging from a tree, merciless practiced punches and kicks. Alphonse sighed and shook his head, jogging towards the telephone and picking it up, "Hello?" he sounded out of breath and he blamed Hughes for that.

The man was as kind as a sweet elderly woman and as crazy as the next lunatic, a combination of both usually made Alphonse want to run towards the hills. The man was proficient in the use of throwing knives and daggers, being his practice dummy or as he called it, _sparring partner_ , wasn't high on his to-do list. While throwing the deadly weapons at him and Alphonse blocking them all, he sometimes thought the man lost it when he grinned at him so kindly and shouted overly dramatic encouragement at him all the while throwing sharp knives at him with the precision and speed of a professional killer.

Alphonse shook his head, wiping the sweat off his forehead and collarbone, "Yes?" he repeated, feeling like he missed the caller's introduction.

" _Get Roy on the line brat,"_ Alphonse shivered all over when he heard the familiar but very creepy voice of Roy's aunt sounding through the receiver. It wasn't that Alphonse disliked the elderly woman...it was just she was sometimes even scarier than Kimblee and that was saying something.

When they had visited her place with Roy one time, he had nearly had a heart attack when a swarm of scantily clad women surrounded him, cooing how cute and handsome he was and that he would have a good time with them.

Poor Edward hadn't been amused.

Neither had the women been when he kindly and politely refused their advances.

Madam Christmas had commented idly how she could potentially recruit Alphonse into working for her and getting more female patrons that way.

Alphonse had never blushed so red in his life.

Ed was walking towards him, wondering why his brother looked like he had seen a ghost with how pale he was, before he took the phone from his brother's sweaty, shaky hand and asked, "Hello? Who is this?"

" _For hell's sake get Roy on the lines, ya little brats,"_ opposed to his brother's reaction, Ed immediately recognized the gruff voice and shouted right back.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE BRATS YOU MANGY PERVERTED OLD HA-" Ed was stopped when Roy roughly pushed him out of the way and answered as sweetly and as casually as ever.

"Ahh, it's you Madam Christmas, to what do I own the pleasure?" Roy smiled, peeking over to see Fullmetal sprawled across the grass with a less than friendly expression aimed at him.

There was a characteristic snort before the woman answered, " _Since you only ever show your mug in my bar once in a blue moon, I've been surprised how you showed up today, so I decided to call over,"_ Roy's expression froze, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"What?" he paused, resting a hand against the small table the phone was on, "What do you mean? You know I'm at the border,"

" _Hm, yeah I know. A young little lad came to the bar and he looked exactly like you,"_ she paused briefly, obviously lightning a cigarette, " _Sounded like ya too, same annoying voice I know,"_ Roy frowned, " _Anyway, he came looking for answers. Asked how far along I'm with gathering information for you and all,"_

Roy shared a concerned look with Alphonse before resting a hand on his hip, "What did you say?"

" _I lied, 'course. Said I hadn't gotten anything new yet and that the last intel had been a false lead. He took off rather quickly after that. Tch, amateur,"_ Roy shook his head, stumped that someone actually managed to disguise as him.

"Wait, how did you know that wasn't me if the impostor was good?" Roy arched a brow, sincerely curious.

The woman laughed in amusement, " _He ordered scotch,"_

Roy couldn't help but smirk in amusement, "Right," shaking his head, Roy took a breath, "There is a possibility that the man had been one of the military or one of Bradley's men," he paused, thinking it over, "Maybe even one of the sins we've interacted with,"

Madam Christmas scoffed into the receiver and Roy could hear playful annoyance in her gruff voice, " _I thought you would be less trouble once ya grow old and move out, but I guess that's just a pipe dream,"_ Roy chuckled, expression softening.

His voice lowered when he uttered the next words fondly, "Thanks, auntie," he chuckled at the surprised noise she made, "I'll be sure to look into it. Make sure you stay safe and be careful of who you let into the bar. Greet the girls from me, will you?" he smiled pleasantly.

The bar owner scoffed, " _Yes, yes, now get back to work before you start slacking off again,"_ there was barely audible amusement in her voice before the line went dead and Roy hung up as well.

"What is it?" Alphonse asked anxiously, having watched Roy's expressions closely during the talk.

Roy's gaze narrowed, "We have a problem, call in Fullmetal and Hughes," Alphonse did as told, not questioning the order as he helped his brother off the ground and speed walked toward the crazy but kindhearted soldier, dragging him away from his training.

"Ahh, what is it this time Roy? I had just gotten in shape too!" Hughes whined, adjusting his glasses sharply that made Alphonse shiver, "Dear Alphonse here was kind enough to assist me with my training!" he crossed his arms, a pout on his face.

Roy smirked at the horrified look on sweet Alphonse before turning serious, "Madam Christmas called just now. It seems like there's been an impostor, disguised as me in order to gather information about our current sources and what we know," he crossed his arms, a scowl on his face, "She said even his voice was like mine but how is that possible?"

Hughes rubbed his chin, "Well, there are a number of the latest voice modifiers that allow someone to imitate another's voice perfectly if used right,"

Ed frowned, "Who would want to do that anyway? You said something that the person may likely be in the military, but why bother going through all that trouble just to find something out they could very well get with force?" none of the recent events seemed to add up to him and it was making him frustrated.

Roy sighed, "I don't know. All I know is that we need to keep our eyes open, our enemy may be a lot closer than we think and with how things are looking like now with those...siblings of yours, " he shot Greed a brief look, "We have little advantage over them and are falling more and more behind by way of gathering information,"

Ed nodded, sighing, "What about Drachma?" Roy rose an eyebrow, "Drachma has employed the help of Aerugo, willingly or not, and they may have as well employed the strength of those sins too,"

Kimblee had made his entrance with a flicker of his long pony tail, draping it over his shoulder as he shook his head at Ed's theory, "I doubt it, Fullmetal. If we are connecting the dots here correctly, Bradley should be aware of their existence and have full control over their actions. Handing over precious soldiers like that over to the enemy doesn't sound right to me," his gaze narrowed, "Bradley and Drachma's leader have had a longstanding rivalry between them, over the course of the years that one sided rivalry was returned after a failed assassination attempt on the Führer's wife, very obviously bearing the mark of Drachma," he rubbed his chin, humming thoughtfully, "The Führer is highly unlikely to join forces with his greatest enemy, so I assume he is keeping those elite soldiers of his under his power to prepare for something much greater than maybe even this war," his face was deathly serious, eyes locking onto Roy's, "Wouldn't you agree, General?"

Roy's gaze narrowed, conflicted emotions clearly expressed through his dark eyes, "Something greater than this war?"

Kimblee smiled, "Maybe even something that could endanger the lives of many, many people,"

And suddenly, Ed's memory was jarred violently when he remembered the words Greed spoke not too long ago.

 _"_ _They said they would rule the world..."_

 _"_ _...said they would need many...sacrifices for it to work,"_

Ed curled his hands into a fist, "They need sacrifices," all heads turned to look at the young soldier.

"For what?" Hughes adjusted his glasses, expression grave as he contemplated the words and the meaning behind them.

Ed shook his head, "I don't know yet but..." he looked each of them in the eyes, "This war may very well only be a decoy,"

Roy's eyes widened, subtle fury lacing his words, "Are you aware of what you're saying, Edward?"

The blond nodded firmly, "I know what I'm saying alright. Maybe Bradley's using this whole war as a decoy to distract the public from his real plan." The squad fell silent, mulling over the atrocious idea.

Al's voice was thick with something akin to fear and disbelief when he spoke softly, "You think...they plan to do what they did to Ishval?" he looked at his brother directly, "A mass murder?"

Ed slowly shook his head, "Maybe...maybe not. Maybe my assumptions are just that, assumptions, but ever since we encountered one of those 'sins' nothing seemed to add up right. Much less the theory that the Führer may be in cahoots with them,"

Roy's voice was surprisingly sharp as he said this, "We're soldiers Ed, not detectives. Our job is to fight and win this war, nothing else," his cold front surprised Ed.

"It's also our job to protect our country and the people in it Mustang and if we can do that by stopping a possible mass slaughter by staging a coup against the Führer then we have to!" Ed's voice was just as sharp but controlled, schooled features and harsh eyes coming into play.

Ed had been a real hothead when he was younger, back when he first joined the military, had been often prone to emotional outbursts of rage. But the years in the military had toughened him up, he had matured, physically, mentally and had used all he had to his advantage.

By now, outbursts of rage served as comical purposes for when they were relaxing and fooling around or for very serious situations where, in rare moments of weakness, Ed couldn't control his feelings anymore and they would come shooting out of him like deadly bullets from a automatic rifle.

Roy didn't know what was more unnerving, seeing Ed's bursts of outrage or seeing the schooled harsh features of his junior as he glared at him.

Dark eyes closed in thought, teeth gritting together, "Roy?" at Hughes' prodding, Roy opened his eyes again.

"If Bradley really has something to do with the appearance of them, then we will find out," he turned to look at Hughes, "Call Rebecca and request intelligence spies to be set on Bradley, only answering to _me_ ," Hughes nodded seriously, immediately getting to the task, Roy's gaze turned sharply to Ed.

Ed was quick to stand his ground, "If you're going to scold me, that's useless, Mustang. I'm not a cadet anymore and you're not the same dumb jackass you were then," he crossed his arms, chin lifting slightly in a sign clear of defiance.

Roy sighed heavily before shaking his head, "Being lectured by a child...how the mighty have fallen,"

Ed smirked.

* * *

Disappearing stealthily into a narrow alleyway, Roy Mustang hid behind one of the larger trash cans, fingers prodding at something at his neck.

Blunt nails scratched and tore at the spot until a piece of what appeared to be skin peeled off, enabling him to take a hold of it with deft fingers and roughly pull it out, a large layer of skin tearing away to reveal darker skin beneath the mask, roughly tearing away the voice modifier just at his collar and pocketing it safely.

Breathing a sigh of relief at escaping the uncomfortable confines of the mask, a ringing and vibrating in his pocket made the unmasked stranger reach into it and flip his phone open.

" _Has the mission been successful?"_ the voice of King Bradley entered his ears and the stranger smirked, a deep, smooth voice answering back leisurely.

"Quite, however she has her suspicions," striking blue eyes peered from behind his cover before focusing on the conversation, "They most likely have notified Mustang of this,"

" _Indeed. I'm glad you have chosen to aid me in my goal, I've needed somebody like you in my party,"_ the tall man smirked, blue eyes flickering ominously.

"I'll execute the next part of my mission, sir," with that he hung up, flipping the phone shut and slipping it back inside his pocket.

A bloodthirsty grin settled over handsome features, making his eyes appear to glow in amusement, "We'll see who's aiding who in this war, Bradley," he chuckled, a rich, deep sound.

Adjusting the hat on his head and safely hiding away the remains of his mask, he mingled in with the crowd, dark long trench coat effectively hiding any sign of the dark blue military uniform he had stolen, "We'll see..."

I'm so sorry for the short length! I've been suffering through a bit of writers block with this particular chapter! **Reviews, as you know, keep me alive and kicking! ;) What happens next? And who's that handsome stranger that posed as Mustang? Thoughts and opinions are appreciated! Thank you!**


	22. Of Chimneysweeps & Soot

**_A/N:_** Hey dear readers! I'm back (finally)! I can see some of you (judging by some PM's I've received too) were a bit confused to the identity of the stranger that posed as **Mustang** at the end of the **last chapter**! Well, it's definitely **_NOT_** Envy! I repeat, _NOT ENVY!_ Envy doesn't have blue eyes (which I mentioned as being the stranger's original color)!

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Unlucky Alis:** Ah, ah, ah, I would have to disappoint you on that one, that certainly wasn't Envy at the end of the chapter who posed as Roy! :) I think I mentioned it once or twice, but I will dedicate a chapter to Ed, where it shows flashbacks of his past and the accident that got him to lose his arm and leg. All I can say is that it was a fundamental part in shaping him into the hardened soldier he turned into. The story will become just a bit darker as the war rages on, because...well no war was ever fun :P

 **Sherlsepeare:** (embarrassed grin) Ah, sorry about that. Life gets in the way or my other 300 something story ideas/requests get in the way, so it's a bit tough keeping track of it all. ^^ Hmm..indeed the character is a guy with blue eyes and tan skin to note! However, it's not any that's known to the series (so an OC) but the important part is his role in the story and his relationship to the other characters which I will gradually expand on (though I thought it had been obvious ^^). Hmm...Gracia...I think I haven't mentioned her yet, but don't worry I didn't forget her! ;)

 **Cutepanda12323:** Hey there! Thanks for reading my story ^^ Aw, thanks so much for the nice compliment! You made my day right now :3 Thank you! :)

 **A/N 2#:** The poem in the story (about chimneysweeps) is a small paragraph I borrowed from the book **"** _ **Tyger, Tyger" by William Blake** (page 10)._

 **E** **njoy! :)**

* * *

 **Of Chimneysweeps and Soot**

 _"_ _Dear Edward,_

 _As soon as you read this, could we talk over skype if you're available? I'll be online today at around 7 and then later 11:00 p.m._

 _Take care,_

 _Winry."_

She had sent that just a few hours ago, it was unlikely the letter had gotten to him yet, considering the mysterious circumstances that had occurred only a few weeks before.

Lena had stormed into her apartment and had told her what happened and that moment, that moment had scared the hell out of her.

Not because Lena talked about the deaths of soldiers or the fighting and explosions, but because then, she had been uncertain where Greed and the others were.

Where _Edward_ was.

And _that_ had certainly made her thoughtful. She usually didn't get attached quickly, but...it seemed so easy to talk to Ed. Their communication just improved after their skype calls from time to time. It had begun to be easier to relax around him and banter back and forth, even throw harmless insults at each-other without any hard feelings.

She looked down at the automail arm she was currently working on, her own little project. Granny was well read in the medical field, so she taught Winry about it and gave her some of her medical books as well, making it easier for Winry to construct the metal arm.

Winry hadn't tested out her new model of course, she had worked tirelessly on it, like a woman possessed, but for some reason, it was important to her. It was proof of her skills as a mechanic, of her tireless work and determination, the sweat and blood and sleepless nights she invested into it.

Slowly caressing the smooth side of the steel plating, she sighed.

She sighed and worked tirelessly, but her mind was still on the war, on the battlefield.

On Ed.

* * *

Taking measured steps through the moist dirt ground, Hughes looked over his shoulder at Ed and the rest.

Turning to Roy at his right, he leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Don't you think we should take a break? Ed and the others look beat," Roy peeked a look behind him, confirming Hughes' assumption with his own eyes as the two continued to trek through the dense forest.

"If we stop now the enemy may catch up," he closed his eyes, eyebrows scrunching together, "We still don't know who it was that impersonated me, that man may have ties to the military, maybe he sent word to his buddies here to get our heads." He opened his eyes again to look directly at Hughes, his own hard gaze showing his exhaustion, "Besides, I know there's Aerugo's former base up ahead, I doubt they would deny us shelter for a few days until we can pinpoint the exact location of our second base,"

Hughes shrugged, silently agreeing, "That is, if anyone is still there, maybe they moved out,"

Both men suddenly came to a freezing halt when they spotted the base.

It was in shambles, tents were destroyed, corpses of what they assumed were from Aerugo lying on the ground, the place looked like a battlefield and at one point or another it had been one.

Ling adjusted his grip around his brother's waist, eyes widening at the sight, "What...happened?"

Edward cautiously walked passed Roy and Hughes, examining the damage, kneeling down to inspect pieces of splintered wood from support beams and discarded guns nearby, "This is...recent," his eyes widened, "This must have happened sometime last week...maybe two tops," Ed stood up, turning to look at Roy, "What the hell is going on?"

Hughes surveyed the corpses, turning one over on its back and immediately covering his nose from the foul stench coming from it, backing away, "This is definitely older than just a week or two!" he coughed, gaze narrowing, "They've already started to decay. What sort of sick game is this?"

Roy's eyes narrowed, "Setting up older corpses in a base that's been destroyed only a week prior? Why?" he looked around the mess of what used to be a military base, "What would they gain from it? Surely they couldn't have believed we can be fooled that easily,"

Greed growled, "Heh," Roy looked at him, "This is a setup, Mustang. I bet these guys aren't even from Aerugo. I don't know what happened here, but maybe my dear siblings of mine are playing cat and mouse with us," he huffed, balancing his weight as Ling continued to support him.

"...Playing cat and mouse? With this?" Roy grit his teeth, "Let's scout the area and grab anything that's still useful around here, weapons, medical supplies, blankets, anything."

The group nodded, dispersing to stand guard around the destroyed base in lookout for enemies while the other portion searched the tents.

Ed made his way over to a still standing tent, pushing the tattered end of a flap aside he moved forward toward a small night desk near what used to be a bed, opening drawers until he found one with a small, thin book.

Ed rose an eyebrow, picking the dusty book up and brushing the dust away.

It had no title, but when he opened it, it contained scribbles he managed to decipher, partly messy at some pages, as if hastily written, but Edward found it odd.

One page was written differently than some of the rest, in short compact sentence structures and when he read the words, he found it to be a poem of some sort.

 _"_ _When my mother died, I was very young_

 _And my father sold me while yet my tongue_

 _Could scarcely cry 'weep, weep, weep, weep'_

 _So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep."_

Edward rose an eyebrow, " _Chimney sweeps? What?_ " he suspected it to be a journal, but why would a soldier write a poem about chimney sweeps of all things? It didn't seem to be a code, at least what he was able to deduce from it.

"Found anything?" it was Mustang, accompanied by Hughes and Edward turned around to look at them and show them the journal.

"Yeah but..." Ed held out the journal of scribbled poetry over to Mustang, "A journal of chimney sweeps?" his superior took the offered book, eyes sweeping over the text Ed had been reading.

But Mustang shook his head, "No..." his eyes darkened, "The soot represents blood," his eyes trailed over the words, "The chimney sweeps are the executors who do the dirty work for the higher ups," Ed's eyes widened and his throat ran dry.

Roy read a line from the poem out loud,

 _"_ _When my mother died, I was very young_

 _And my father sold me while yet my tongue_

 _Could scarcely cry 'weep, weep, weep, weep'_

 _So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep."_

Roy looked down at Ed, "When the mother dies, it's when the war began. When the father sold his son out while he was barely able to speak, the newly appointed soldiers were thrown into battle unprepared and were scared of death." Roy's eyes saddened, an emotion portrayed in them Ed recognized as the one he often got when talking about Ishval, "They sweep the chimneys of the higher ups, the soldiers act as executioners who kill their prisoners of war and every night, they sleep in the blood of the people they have executed and are haunted by their terrified faces and their rolling heads," he shut the journal and handed it back to him, "The original story behind the poem was different, but it garnered a different meaning for soldiers,"

Ed stared down at the dusty, tattered old journal with hard eyes.

" _The chimney sweeps were imprisoned soldiers forced to kill prisoners of war and the soot they slept in every night was the blood they spilled after they killed them,"_ Ed's heart tightened, " _They partly encoded their journals, so if their officials found them they wouldn't think much of it,"_ Ed carefully pocketed the tattered book within his uniform and Roy watched the action with interest.

" _He's keeping it...but why?"_ Roy chose to voice his thoughts, "You're taking it with you, Fullmetal? For what reason?"

He watched the younger man stand up to walk over to the shredded tent flaps, his hand curled into a fist at his side and his voice reminded Mustang of times when he was angry, "As a reminder," Ed offered no further commentary on it as he walked out and hollered orders at cadets who were scouting the destroyed area.

Mustang could only guess what that reminder was.

 _When the war began, I was very young_

 _Into battle I was flung, unprepared and dumb_

 _While I saw the rolling head on the dirt ground_

 _Into the dark abyss of death I drowned_

 _I slept in the blood of my kills_

 _And I slept still_

 _As still as the mound of the dead grew_

 _With my bloodied hands, my friends I slew_

* * *

"Hey Riza!" Rebecca's head popped through the partly opened door, eyes alight with mirth, "Wanna go for a bite to eat and some coffee? We're both on break now!"

Riza smiled at her giddy friend, standing from her desk and taking her coat with her, "Sure thing, let me just-" she froze when she saw a slip of paper she was sure hadn't been there peeking out from her coat pocket, "-Let me just make one last call, I'll be out in a minute,"

Rebecca stayed silent for several seconds before her face took on a very large smirk, "Ohh, calling your hubby huh? Well, greet the old flame thrower for me! Oh and greet Jean too!" with that, the brunette shut the door closed and Riza was once again alone.

Shaking her head at her friend, Riza sighed and smiled, "Will do..." before she turned her attention to the mysterious slip of paper.

Making sure she was alone, Riza grabbed the small, square piece of paper from the inside of her coat pocket, unfolding it slowly.

What she read made no sense whatsoever.

 ** _Project F.P._**

She rose an eyebrow, _"What?"_ she turned it over, but saw nothing else written on it, " _What does project F.P. mean? Is it a code?"_ swiftly, Riza turned on the screen of her computer and typed in the military database the name of the project.

Waiting for several seconds, the screen flashed brightly when the notification popped up in bold red letters.

 _Access denied._

Her eyebrow shot to her hairline, " _Access denied? I have full authority,"_ she tried again, but once again, the same notification kept popping up.

 _Access denied._

 _Access denied._

Frowning, Riza closed the folder and shut down her computer, grabbing her coat and stuffing the piece of paper in her pants pocket.

Quietly making her way out of her office, she shut and locked it, greeting her colleagues as she walked out of the imposing building of the State Military.

Rebecca was impatiently tapping her foot by the time Riza approached her calmly, "Man, Riza! I've been waiting here forever! Come on, I heard there's this new café nearby-" she paused when she noticed the serious look Riza fixed her with, "Hey, what's-"

"Let's go to the Madam's. There's something we need to discuss privately," she offered to further information, leading her stunned friend away from military grounds until they were safely out of camera view and possible earshot.

Slipping the piece of paper in her friend's hand, Riza continued walking normally beside her as the trained soldier her friend was calmly looked at the piece of paper in her hand.

 ** _Project F.P._**

"Found anything?" Rebecca handed it back over to Riza, who safely pocketed it again before shaking her head in the negative.

"I couldn't get access to the files," Rebecca's eyebrows shot up to her hairline at that.

"What? But you're the General's _wife_ , how can you get denied access?!" she seemed outraged by that fact alone.

Riza's gaze hardened as both women approached Rebecca's car, "I don't know. Whoever slipped that paper into my coat must be either helping us or intending to create more confusion. Whatever the case, we will see what the Madam can do,"

Rebecca grinned, "Ahhh, that sassy old hag! You know, I actually really like her! She may be grumpy and all, but we totally get along!" she laughed and Riza couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

"Yeah, what do you want?" Madam Christmas rose an eyebrow at Rebecca's crestfallen expression.

"So mean..." the military woman sniffled, promptly snatching the first glass of alcohol she saw from another table, quickly turning her back when a burly man suddenly sat on the same table and loudly called out, "Hey, who the hell stole my drink?!"

Sending Madam Christmas an apologetic look for her friend's behavior, Riza leaned her elbows on the table, paper already in hand, "I was hoping you may offer information concerning this, madam,"

Chris Mustang was not amused when she took the slip of paper from her daughter-in-law and she certainly wasn't amused when she saw what was written on it, "Where did you get this?" she rose an eyebrow at Riza.

But the blonde shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't know, someone must have slipped it into my coat while I was absent from the office. I don't know how else it could get there," she sighed, "I couldn't find anything in our database either or rather I couldn't get access to the files,"

Rebecca looked very happy with her drink, "Yeah! Unbelievable how rude that is, huh?" Chris Mustang fixed her with a look, "What? It's true! Hell, she's the General's wife and high in the ranks too!" she peeked one eye open at Riza, "I would sue them for this,"

Rolling her eyes at her friend, Riza turned her attention to the woman in front of her, "Could you do this for me?" she smiled.

Madam Christmas smiled back, lighting a cigarette as she handed the paper to one of her girls who passed by, "Was there anything I didn't do for you in the past?" the smile she gave Riza was warm, "Anything for my daughter-in-law, right?" Riza smiled, bowing her head gratefully.

"So, since your friend here is supplied," she fixed Rebecca with a look again, "How about you?" she smirked at Riza, who smiled softly.

"I'll have regular water, thank you," sighing in disappointment at Riza's non drinking habits, she decided to indulge her and offer her simple water, with no traces of alcohol this time.

* * *

 _RockbellAutomail is online._

 _You have a new message from FullmetalElric._

 _"_ _Hey Winry, 7pm is fine for me. See you then!" 6:45pm_

 _FullmetalElric is online._

 _FullmetalElric calling..._

 **I'm so sorry everyone! I know it's a short chapter and a long wait! T_T I hope the next one will come sooner! Reviews are always appreciated and fawned over lol ^^**


	23. A False Lead

**A/N: Hi guys! :)** Right, I've noticed a few seemed confused by the setting of the story, or rather the characters' roles (like Roy's and Ed's rank...etc.)

 **Here's a small overview:**

 **Roy Mustang** ( **rank: General** , married to Riza Hawkeye and leading his own unit in the war)

 **Edward Elric** ( **rank: Lieutenant General** , sometimes called 'Captain' or 'cap' simply because he got famous while under the rank of 'Captain' a few years before ' _Letters from War'_ begins)

 **Riza Hawkeye (rank: Lieutenant General,** retired from field combat, working as King Bradley's secretary)

 **Greed (rank: Major General** , right-hand man to Ed)

 **Ling (rank: Field Surgeon,** member of Al's medic team)

 **Alphonse (rank: Field Surgeon,** commands groups of medics during the war)

 **Kimblee (rank: Explosives Expert,** is the only one capable of not only proficiently using explosives, bombs and the like but also defusing all sorts of explosives)

 **Olivier Armstrong (rank: Major General** , base of operations: Fort Briggs)

 **Alex Armstrong (rank: Major,** currently deployed in Central)

 **Lust (rank: Intelligence Officer First,** directly under Bradley's unit, alias: Solaris)

 **Envy (rank: Intelligence Officer Second,** information gathering and stealth being his primary functions, works directly under Lust, alias: Dan, a police officer)

 **Sloth (rank: Sapper,** brief explanation for the term: a **_sapper_** is a combat engineer or soldier that demolishes or builds buildings, digs tunnels, lays or clear minefields and/or field defenses)

 **King Bradley (rank: Führer/General of the Army/GA,** acts as a military figure leading the country and its military, works on the opposing side against Drachma)

 **Mustang Unit (ranks: retain all the ranks they have in the anime/manga)**

 **Scar (rank: classified as M.I.A or dead, rogue soldier** from Ishval, occasionally assists Ed  & Co.)

* * *

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **AuthorBugsy:** (blushes) Ah, thank you so much for the nice compliment! :3

 **Unlucky Alis:** haha thank you ^^ Well, the first one is a small paragraph I borrowed from a book I read (mentioned in Author's Notes) and the second one I myself made up and adapted according to what it could mean concerning war and so on. The second one is Ed thinking about the poem at the end.

 **Pouda-P:** Thanks! I read it in a book and after some thinking somehow tied it to this story ^^ Thank you for still reading my story, I hope it won't get boring as quickly haha. You take care too! I just hope I'll have more time to update quicker! :3

 **Lyllian:** (sweat drop) Thank you so much for pointing that out! I read your review a while ago and realized I wrote it wrong! . Ugh, really, thanks for pointing out my mistake, I often make mistakes when I'm tired ^^

 **Cutepanda12323:** Hey there! :) Thanks so much for reading and enjoying my story :3 I hope it won't get boring too soon! ;)

 **Zacharylee53899:** Ah, got it! Thanks for the tip, I did know that but I thought they were addressed specifically by rank just like the ground troops? I didn't do extensive research yet on that so I'm sorry if there are any errors there.

* * *

 **Enjoy! :)**

 **A False Lead**

 _Previously on 'Letters from War'..._

 _RockbellAutomail is online._

 _You have a new message from FullmetalElric._

 _"_ _Hey Winry, 7pm is fine for me. See you then!" 6:45pm_

 _FullmetalElric is online._

 _FullmetalElric calling..._

"DEN! DEN!" said dog's ears flattened against his head when he saw his mistress frantically run towards her beeping computer, against which he currently had his snout pressed against curiously to try and find out the source of the strange noise.

Accidentally pressing a key on the keyboard, Den started barking at the screen when it flashed and in the next second, it revealed a handsome young man with blond hair.

" _...What the-? Hey! Stop barking at me Winry!"_ the youth's playfully annoyed shout caused Winry to throw caution to the wind and grab her wrench from the coffee table, waving it threateningly at the screen while Den's barking ceased in favor of slowly backtracking to not be in the accidental line of fire from his mistresses' weapon.

"That's not me you stupid idiot! It's Den!" she growled, but stopped when she found her camera not to be on.

Oh...

Quickly setting aside her wrench and sitting on the stool, Winry clicked on the camera symbol on Skype and she saw her own screen appear at the bottom right corner.

" _Ahhh, now I can see ya!"_ Ed grinned, leaning in close, " _I still think you were barking at me, sounded like you anyways,"_ he laughed, pointing at her with his finger.

 _"_ _That infuriating stuck up-!"_ Winry's hands clenched into fists and she ground her teeth tightly against one another, a biting insult already resting on the tip of her tongue, "Why you little-!"

" _Ed my boy!"_ both young adults froze when a new voice entered their little chat and interrupted what Winry dubbed as 'World War 3'.

" _Lt. Colonel H-Hughes! What the hell are you-h-hey!"_ suddenly, a vaguely familiar face popped up in front of the screen, blocking Winry's view of Edward's face and immediately evaporating her anger and annoyance at the soldier.

Her back straightened, "Um...h-hello?" she waved awkwardly, not really knowing what to do.

The man, whose surname sounded oddly familiar to her, waved cheerfully back, grinning from ear to ear, " _Why hello there young lady!"_ he adjusted his glasses, seemingly mustering her with a critical eye, " _Hmm...seems like dear Edward here hasn't been exaggerating a bit! You're every bit as cute as he said! However, not nearly as cute as my darling daughter Elicia! Look! I have pictures!"_ three different pictures were suddenly pressed far too closely against the camera and for a moment, all Winry saw was black until the screen cleared to reveal a funny picture.

Edward was playfully wrestling with the older man, while the latter tried shoving various pictures of his daughter and seemingly his wife into Edward's face.

" _Hughes! I told you to knock it off! Everyone saw your daughter and wife already! There's not a soul on this planet that doesn't know about them! Now get out of here I'm trying to have a call here!"_ struggling fruitlessly against the overexcited man, Hughes' face was suddenly close to the camera again and Winry drew back in surprise and stunned nervousness, rooted to the seat of her chair.

The man hummed thoughtfully, rubbing the slight stubble on his chin, before grinning again, " _Ah, I see! You're trying to have some private time like Greed does with Lena, right? Well, I suppose you're that age already Ed."_ Hughes slapped Ed on the back and by that time, Winry's face was on _fire_ , " _Right! Got it! Leave the kids to themselves!"_

The man was about to walk away until another vaguely familiar but deeper and more serious voice sounded from somewhere at the back, " _Hughes, where have you been? I've been looking all over for-oh,"_ there was a small pause, until the man began to speak again, " _I see Fullmetal's trying to be alone with that young letter lady again,"_

Winry's eyebrows shot to her hairline, " _...Letter lady? Is that supposed to be me?"_ she slapped her hand against her face, " _What have I gotten myself into?"_

 _"_ _WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?! HUGHES! GET GENERAL USELESS OUT OF HERE!"_ Ed's enraged roar was accompanied by the other man's almost immediately.

" _WHO'RE YOU CALLING USELESS YOU PINT SIZED BEAN?!"_ the deeper voice grew higher a few octaves with the increase in volume and Winry couldn't help but realize who the voice belonged to.

It was General Mustang! Riza's husband! How could she be so _stupid?_

Bravely, Winry steeled herself, "Um, h-hello Mr. Mustang!" she gave a small wave, unsure if she should wave or salute but decided it was too late when another face appeared before the camera.

Oh yeah, it was Riza's husband alright. She saw him on a few pictures Riza kept at home, as well as her wallet.

Trying to ignore Edward's reply about his height, ' _AT LEAST I OUTGREW THAT PHASE AT SIXTEEN YOU FIRE SPEWING DRAGON!'_

Roy's face broke into a friendly smile after he looked at Winry carefully, _"Ah, you must be Miss Rockbell, correct? Riza's told me a lot about you,"_ he smiled pleasantly, _"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Rockbell, considering the circumstances,"_

Winry smiled awkwardly, feeling slightly better at seeing a relatively... _normal_ person, "I-It's a pleasure to meet you too Mr. Mustang," she smiled.

Roy smirked, " _Oh please do call me Roy miss, 'Mr.' makes me feel too old,"_ he chuckled, eliciting a small giggle from Winry as well.

"Then you can call me Winry," she nodded, grinning a small smile when the man nodded back.

" _Tch, as if you can get any older, Mustang,"_ Ed's voice sounded from somewhere behind Roy, an annoyed expression settling almost automatically on the older man's features at the comment.

" _If you weren't useful in this war I would have singed that mouth of yours closed a long time ago! After all, you can't cry for help with a closed mouth now can you, Fullmetal?"_ smugness dripped from Roy's voice like honey from a bee hive and Winry couldn't help but giggle at their interactions.

She would have nearly forgotten about Hughes had the man not unceremoniously pushed Roy out of the camera shot and moved in himself, " _So, you're Edward's girlfriend, huh?"_ he smiled broadly and entirely too innocently.

Winry's eyes widened and before she could utter a protest, Ed was already hollering, " _SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND YOU HALF WITS!"_

 _"_ _Now that's no way to talk to your superiors,"_ Mustang chided playfully with a smirk when Edward himself forced himself in front of the camera.

" _I don't care if you were the Führer yourself! Get out or I'll rip your legs off your body and stick them to your heads!"_ the threat, while quite impossible to execute, seemed very real coming from Edward's mouth and with two identical great sighs, the two men turned to the screen to face Winry.

" _Ma'am, we apologize for this barbarian's ruthless behavior,"_ Ed guffawed at Roy's comment.

Hughes nodded curtly, " _Agreed. We shall take disciplinary measures as soon as his private time with you is concluded. Please ignore any profanities and foam that may or may not gather in his mouth during his temper tantrums. Thank you,"_ with suspiciously practiced movements, Roy and Hughes slipped out, effectively making Ed's face go from hot pink to a full blown red color and Winry could practically _see_ the steam coming out of his ears and nose.

" _T-That-! T-that-!"_

Winry quickly tried to defuse the situation, "A-ah, Ed!" her exclamation caught his attention almost immediately and she found herself being the center of attention by a pair of gold eyes.

She tried not to fidget, "Um...I wanted to talk to you if you don't mind," she smiled, finding it funny that their skype call already lasted eight minutes and not even a full minute of it did he talk to _her_.

Well...his two superiors were certainly funny so the time that was lost wasn't completely wasted...

He turned his full body towards her, dog tag dangling on his black undershirt, " _Sure, I uh..."_ and suddenly, he went from enraged explosion-ready gorilla to shy fidgeting soldier in 0.5 seconds, " _I'm sorry about...err...earlier. They can be...very..."_ he seemed like he was searching for the right words.

Winry tried to supply helpfully, "Excited?"

" _Nah...I was thinking somethin' along the lines of ...tiresome,"_ he smiled awkwardly, " _Ahem, anyway, what did you want to talk about?"_

His face betrayed his emotions, he looked slightly alarmed, " _Did something happen? In Resembool or Central I mean,"_

Winry blinked, "Oh, uh, no, no. Nothing happened so far," her face scrunched up in mild confusion, "Why do you keep asking if something happened, Ed?" her eyes slanted with worry, "Do you...do you think the war might escalate that much?"

Ed seemed like he wanted to shoot himself for asking it, but nonetheless he answered her, " _Ah...look Winry, we're still unsure how things will work out for us. I mean we haven't heard much from Drachma ever since we got ambushed and that says a lot about their hotheaded leader. We don't know what they're planning but we're working on the counter measures though,"_ he took a deep breath, looking her straight in the eyes, " _We don't know when Drachma may plan to start targeting Central,"_ at Winry's slightly alarmed look, he hastily added, " _I-I mean, not Resembool necessarily but...anything is possible in war,"_

However, Winry surprised him with her response, "Tch, those idiots! Attacking us directly like that where our defense is strongest! And that's where King Bradley is too! If they have any common sense up here they won't think to attack Central directly," she didn't look worried at all, the complete opposite of what he expected, "Don't worry Ed, it's gonna be fine," she winked.

He swallowed thickly, ' _If only I could believe that...'_ he thought with slightly downward tilted lips, a thoughtful hum all that escaped him at Winry's optimistic response.

The mechanic wasn't have any of it, "Hey! Stop making such sour faces! It's making me feel boring when we talk like this you know..." she grimaced.

Ed blinked, then he slowly shook his head and chuckled, amused at her words, " _Silly, you aren't boring,"_ at her happy expression, he added just to tease her, " _Alright, maybe a little,"_

He laughed when Winry waggled her finger warningly at him, "Hey! Watch it mister!" both young adults laughed, feeling comfortable in the created silence.

Ed suddenly leaned over the camera slightly, as if trying to look what was behind Winry, " _So, this was the little guy that barked at me earlier, huh?"_

Winry turned her head to spot Den under her chair, his head poking out from between one of the legs and watching Ed curiously on the computer.

Ed stared back, intrigued by the animal's fascination with him.

Winry smiled, gently grabbing Den from under his stomach and lifting him to her lap, laughing shortly when he squirmed due to his size on her lap.

"Ed, this is Den. Den, this is Ed," she smiled, watching how Den moved his head curiously closer to the screen, sniffing it a few times.

Ed grinned, " _Hey Den! Wow, he's a big guy, huh?"_ Ed couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at Den's size, nearly covering Winry whole and when the dog slightly drew back when he heard Ed's voice coming from somewhere within the strange device.

Winry smiled, petting the fur on top of his head, "Mhm, but he's a good boy so it's no problem with him in the house," she giggled, "So, tell me again how Den my 'husband' looks like?" she tilted her head playfully, grinning.

Ed frowned, crossing his arms, " _...Lemme guess...General Bastard told his wife and Hawkeye told you?"_ Winry bit her lip from giggling, but nodded her head in agreement and Ed groaned _, "Should have punched him unconscious when I had the chance..."_ she giggled again at his comment, knowing he didn't really mean it by that point.

"That and your letter gave me a clue," Winry giggled again when Ed muttered under his breath.

Ed turned his head toward her curiously, " _So, I'm making you laugh, huh?"_ he grinned smugly and Winry couldn't help but feel...challenged.

"Many people make me laugh, maybe I'm a person that laughs easily," she challenged and Den barked, Winry scratched behind one of his ears in appreciation at his good timing.

Ed chuckled, " _Yeah, I don't believe you miss mechanic,"_ he smiled, " _Anyway, what's new over there? How's Granny and the shop?"_

Winry's smile softened and she allowed Den to jump off her lap, allowing her to lean her elbows on the table to support her chin with her hand, "Granny is doing well, she's in Rush Valley looking for some spare parts for my little project here since I have to look after the shop. Business is going well I guess, but Aaron, my part time assistant, drives me nuts with his mistakes! He originally didn't study anything related to mechanics and electronics so he was pretty much clueless when he applied for the position of my assistant at first,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, " _Why did you employ him if he didn't have any qualifications?"_

Winry sighed, "He was younger than me and desperate for a job, since he left his family home a while ago he was struggling to work a few jobs to pay for his apartment and tuition fees. I understood his situation since I've been in a similar one before I became independent so I couldn't turn him down, besides he's a fast learner...most of the time," she rolled her eyes playfully, "He sometimes can't differentiate between washers, bolts, nuts, machine screws and cap screws. He doesn't know what a combination screw is or even what a hex lag screw is. _A hex lag screw!_ Can you believe it?!" she huffed, crossing her arms.

Ed imitated her pose, looking thoughtful as he rubbed the slight stubble on his chin, " _Wow, what a country bumpkin' not knowing what a hex lag screw is. He brought shame to his family!"_

Winry mustered Ed with a serious expression, before she burst into a fit of short laughs and giggles, shaking her head, "Did you just call him a 'country bumpkin'? Seriously Edward? We come from _Resembool!_ "

He chuckled, " _Hey, back then Resembool was more advanced than some other shitty backwater villages! It was a rural_ _ **town**_ _! We had cars when they all still had horse drawn carriages!"_ he grinned at her expression.

"Horse drawn carriages? In what century do you live in Lieutenant General?" she smirked playfully, disbelieving of his humorous comments.

Edward smirked back, absentmindedly fingering his dog tag.

Winry's eyes were immediately drawn to it, "Hey, say, aren't those dog tags engraved with a code or something? Or the status of your rank or your name or whatever?" she tilted her head to the side curiously.

Ed froze briefly, dropping the dog tag to rest on his chest, the screen quality too bad to see what the engravings on it were, " _Uh...yeah, something like that."_ He rubbed the back of his neck, " _Uh, listen we'll talk later, okay? I still got some training with the group,"_

Winry's good mood plummeted, noticing the abrupt change in Edward's easy going behavior when she mentioned his dog tag, "Um, I'm sorry if I said something wrong, I guess I do watch too many movies, huh?" she grinned in embarrassment but the soldier just shook his head.

His tone was serious, something Winry wasn't all too used to hearing in their mostly humorous skype calls, " _Nah, that's not it. Don't worry, you didn't say anything wrong. I just really gotta run now,"_ he offered her a brief but friendly smile, " _See you later Win,"_

Winry blinked, _"Win?"_ before she could reply back, the chat was already over.

"W-wait-!" she stopped mid sentence, slumping back in her chair in distress.

Warm, moist licks to the tips of her fingers made Winry look down, where Den was trying to cheer up his mistress, sensing her distress.

Winry smiled, appreciatively rubbing the top of her pet's head and scratching along his snout, making him lick his nose and her fingers again, this time more enthusiastically until she was giggling.

The blonde mechanic stood up and dusted herself off, grabbing her bandana resting on her desk and tying it around her head.

Donning her worn out working gloves, Winry walked towards the door to the garage and opened it, already mentally calculating how much time she would need for the repairs on a car and a motorcycle stationed at the back.

Grabbing the protective goggles as she made her way toward the motorcycle, Winry tried not to let the feeling sink in that Edward was hiding something from her as she tinkered with the bike's exhaust pipe.

* * *

Ed frowned, shutting down the laptop and storing it in one of the large backpacks they've brought along.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck languidly and rotated his dog tag so the engraving stared up at him.

 _'_ _Don't forget 3. October'_

 _'_ _Quit being an ass to her. She doesn't know,'_ he tried repeating that again and again in his mind and he felt guilty for abruptly shutting her off like that, ' _She's gonna hate me if I continue doing that...'_ his lips curled into a wry smirk, shaking his head to dispel the thoughts, _'Maybe it would be better that way,'_

Edward turned to where his brother was organizing medical supplies in large, first aid kits, "Hey, Al," the head medic turned his head at the mention of his name, smiling when he spotted his older brother.

"What is it, brother?" he stood up, shutting the boxes closed.

Ed frowned, "Those dead soldiers we found at one of Aerugo's bases earlier...how long do you think they've been dead for?" Alphonse was a field doctor, he should be able to determine approximately the time of death or at least for how long rigor mortis set in.

Alphonse rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Judging by the low temperatures here at the border, since we aren't that far from Fort Briggs or Drachma, rigor mortis usually sets in several days later due to the cold." His expression was one of concentration, trying to recall the exact appearance and condition of the corpses he briefly inspected, "It may be a stretch, but I think they died well over three weeks ago. The corpses were already on their way to decomposition that would explain the strong odor coming from them." He locked gazes with his brother, "Why did you want to know?"

Ed didn't hesitate, "Come with me," the order sounded strange when speaking to his brother, but the younger Elric realized his brother was on to something.

Securing the ammunition in his two pistols again, Alphonse nodded to signal he was ready for the small trek toward the destroyed base. Edward nodded, securing a rifle on his back and fastening a smoke bomb on his belt, walking ahead as his brother followed by his side.

"Did you find something out?" Alphonse dared to ask after a lengthy pause, eyeing his brother carefully.

Ed hesitated slightly, staring at the ground, "I'm not sure, but I think I noticed something on one of the dead corpses while we were there. It could just be my imagination though," trekking silently through the moist dirt, Edward turned his head slightly to address his brother, his voice softened, "How is Mei doing?"

Al's face immediately brightened at the mention of his girlfriend and Ed had to force down a chuckle to not embarrass his brother, "She is doing great, she started to learn how to cook western cuisine, apparently Lena and Miss Riza are teaching her." He smiled proudly and Edward barely suppressed the urge to tease his brother.

"Heh, I would be careful if I were to let Hawkeye teach her anything about cooking...or Lena for that matter," a small shiver ran down his spine and suddenly an image of the two frightening women appeared in his mind's eye and Edward had a sinking feeling like his comment would have earned a bullet or punch if either women were present at the moment.

Alphonse chuckled, shaking his head before inquiring curiously, "So, how was the talk with Winry? I think you ended the call pretty quick,"

Ed licked his dry lips, "Yeah, well, we have stuff to do so I couldn't talk long,"

Al rose an eyebrow suspiciously, "Is that really the real reason, brother?"

Familiar gold eyes bore into his own, "Whatcha mean, Al?" Alphonse felt he certainly hit a nerve.

Sighing, Alphonse tried to diffuse the situation, "Nothing brother, but I think you shouldn't ward Winry off like that. She seems nice, so try to stop closing her out, okay?" he smiled kindly, hoping that would soothe his brother's temperament.

Ed scoffed, his mood turning darker as he gripped his arm, "Tch, she wouldn't understand Al,"

Al's voice surprisingly turned firm, "I think she would, brother,"

Ed turned his head toward his younger brother, stopping their walk, "Oh yeah? How can you be so sure, huh?" Ed bit his lip, smoothing out the sleeve of his uniform on _that_ arm, Alphonse noticed the action, a sour taste growing in his mouth at the memory of what happened on that particular day.

"Why don't you tell her the truth brother?" Alphonse asked, watching how his brother lifted up his hand, _the_ hand, "You know it's no shame! Why do you keep trying to hide it? Besides, you told me she builds prosthetic limbs herself! I hardly think she would be appalled or disgusted if she found out the truth!"

Ed frowned darkly, staring at the _thing_...the hand... _his_ hand. He tightened it into a fist, no...he couldn't tell her that. It would ruin the friendship they have established until now, even if it was through letters and the occasional video call through skype. He wouldn't let her find out just how broken he was. He had enough baggage with him as it was, being a soldier was a baggage in itself.

Ed never regretted once what he did in order to achieve the state he was in currently, _never_. He had managed to save his brother's life that way and he would never let Al feel bad about it.

Ever.

Yes, he had artificial limbs, made of metal to replace the one's he had lost, but if confronted with the choice of having to save himself or his brother, Ed would always choose his brother. Throughout his life up until now, Al had been the only stability in it, their mother had died when they were young so Ed had acted out both parental roles to Alphonse when they were younger. Ed didn't think their mother, if she were still alive today, would have approved of the lifestyle they chose, being in the military and endangering their lives like that during war time.

His brother was what kept him going most of the time, there were of course his friends, but he wouldn't know what to do with himself if something were to happen to Alphonse. Ed glanced his way and smiled, affectionately patting his brother's head and ruffling his neatly combed hair, causing the youth to growl in displeasure at being treated like a kid. Ed just shrugged it off, taking no offense.

It was their thing.

Ed smiled, shaking his head "With time Al. Wouldn't want to scare off a friend when I didn't even meet her yet for real," he offered a small smile and his face suddenly looked younger, gone was the hardened military man his brother forced himself to grow up to be and Al could still see glimpses of the carefree and stubborn older brother he still was.

Al suddenly went quiet, staring out at the dark green trees thoughtfully and Ed sensed where his thoughts were headed, "Do you think...we have that time brother?" his voice was quiet but Ed heard him.

Ed turned around and continued walking forward, his voice calm and collected, "Who knows Al, who knows..."

After thinking for a long moment, Al finally followed after his brother, smiling slightly when he saw Edward sending him a brief but bright grin his way. Al chuckled, smiling back.

They may in the middle of a war that could potentially become more gruesome than it already was, but they refused to let their minds sink into the depression like many of their other fellow soldiers did.

Alphonse looked up, they finally reached the campsite.

He watched how his elder brother carefully navigated over the foul smelling corpses, holding a hand to slightly block off the smell from his nose. He crouched down at a fallen soldier and fingered the fabric of his military jacket.

Alphonse watched, transfixed, as Edward ripped out a piece of fabric from one of the dead bodies, particularly the spot where the Aerugo flag symbol was located.

"The information was false," Ed suddenly muttered, eyes carefully inspecting the torn fabric.

Al joined his brother on the ground, "What? What do you-" his eyes widened when he saw what his brother was seeing.

Ed's voice was serious as he said this, "Call Mustang and send him out here,"

 _Flashback, a few hours after founding Aerugo's base_

"Fullmetal, have you sent a telegram to Aerugo to inquire about their base?" Roy helped Hughes unpack his backpack as it got caught at his belt stubbornly.

Ed's face scrunched up in confusion, "Yeah, I did. An hour ago and they already sent me one back," he held the telegram between his two fingers up in the air, face looking anything but amused.

Roy frowned, "What did they say?"

Edward reopened the letter and read it aloud

 ** _Form No. 192_**

 ** _Subject: BORDER BASE_**

 **Sender:** ** _Aerugo Royal Office, Prince of Aerugo, Prince Claudio Rico_**

 ** _To: Amestris Border, Lt. Gen. Edward Elric_**

 _You are an idiot, Elric. STOP._

 _P.S. We have no knowledge of this conflict. STOP._

 _Prince Claudio Rico_

Roy and Hughes frowned and Ed angrily crumbled the telegram in his hands, "That little prick! Something's fishy Mustang, why the hell would Rico call me an idiot?!"

Roy replied within a heartbeat, "Because it's true?"

Ed sent him a vicious glare, Roy rolled his eyes, "Well, it does seem a bit strange considering we asked a question concerning their deceased soldiers..." his gaze narrowed, "He said he apparently had no knowledge of it..."

Edward growled, "That bastard, he's hiding something! He must know about his base getting destroyed or his men dead! Why would he call me an idiot for asking if they have a clue who destroyed it and when?" he scoffed, crossing his arms.

Hughes rubbed his chin, "Do you think he really may be hiding something? Edward is right. No respectable ruler of a country, no matter if military orientated or not, is clueless about his own men's status while deployed in a war zone like this."

Roy clenched his fist, sighing heavily, "Of course not. He may be hiding something but the question is for what purpose?" he locked gazes with Hughes, "Killing his own men is beneath Rico, but why would he refuse a proper retrieval of their corpses and offer them a proper burial? If their base had been attacked by hostile forces, it doesn't make sense for the corpses to be older than the base they destroyed."

Edward seemed to have calmed down slightly, his gaze focused and hard, "We had conflicts with Aerugo in the past, Fotset is still a sore spot for them but despite Bradley's reserves Rico has nothing against _us_ ," he gestured to Roy and Hughes as well as himself, "I wonder what his deal is,"

Roy stared at the telegram, "I wonder about that..."

 _Flashback End_

* * *

"Mrs. Mustang, may I?" King Bradley ever present smile seemed etched onto his aging face as he knocked and opened the door slightly to poke his head in.

Riza looked up from her paperwork, wearing a carefully concealed expression on her face at the surprise visit from the Führer himself, "Of course, sir,"

At her consent, Bradley fully opened the door and allowed himself to enter, shoulders and head held high a she regarded the female with his one eye, "How do you do today?" he smiled pleasantly, hands clasped behind his back.

Riza allowed a small smile in return, "Good, sir. I've been completing my paper work and that of General Mustang,"

Bradley laughed, a rich boisterous sound, "Oh, I think you are allowed to informally address your own husband, Lieutenant General." His expression softened, "No need for such prim behavior around me, I understand the relations of married couples after all,"

Riza smiled, "Thank you, sir but I'd like to keep my role at work professional if I may," she offered her superior the same kind smile he showed her and he nodded respectfully.

"Ah, I see, duty bound are we?" he smiled, "I suppose I understand to some degree. I'm glad my dear wife isn't a part of the military or she would be even scarier than she already is!" he laughed, laughing lines showing by the wide stretch of his lips to reveal smiling white teeth.

Riza allowed herself a small chuckle, "How is your wife fairing if I may ask?"

The old Führer smiled, expression softening while talking about his wife, "She's doing remarkably well, raising Selim and tending to her duties as she does. However, she complains about my frequent and long absences from home due to the war,"

Riza nodded, smiling in sympathy, "I see, sir. If I may, I'd be free to relieve you of some of your paperwork, that way you could return home sooner,"

Bradley stilled for a moment, before he chuckled, "Oh, I couldn't possibly accept Lieut. General. It would be unfortunate if one of my best soldiers were to fall ill due to incredible amounts of work,"

Riza remained calm and inviting, "Not to worry, sir. I have ample experience of extra paperwork thanks to my husband," she smiled, giggling slightly.

The Führer seemed to contemplate her offer, Riza clasped her hands together, gazing at him patiently when he finally spoke, "Hm...well, I suppose a few days wouldn't hurt if that's alright with you. My wife and son are sure to be happier if I were to return home earlier, wouldn't you think?"

Riza nodded, "Of course, sir,"

Bradley lowered his head in a small bow, ever present smile on his face, "Thank you Lieut. General for your kind offer, my door will be open for you in the afternoon after I take my leave,"

Riza nodded, saying her goodbye's when the older man left her office.

She sighed, leaning her head against the back of her black leather chair.

She reopened a tab on her computer, the bold, red letters mocking her as they read, ' _ACCESS DENIED'_ for her search.

 _Search for: PROJECT F.P._

Riza ran her hand through her hair, sighing heavily.

 _'_ _I have never heard of this project before. What could F.P. possibly stand for? The names for our laboratories are all numerals, it may be a coded operation but what?'_ her gaze traveled to the phone, ' _I should contact Roy for this, he may know what it is.'_ Instead of reaching for the phone, Riza retrieved a slip of paper from under her desk and quickly wrote down her message.

 _Hey honey, I just managed to contact Rebecca about that concert she said she was going to. The band's name is_ _ **F**_ _orever_ _ **P**_ _roud and at first it was a group_ _ **project**_ _made by the original band members, I think you should listen to them too sometime. However, they are_ _ **hard to find**_ _since they travel a lot._

 _-Riza_

Folding her letter once and engraving it with the State Military seal along with her own personal one at the bottom right corner with _R.M._ she stood and gave it to Sheska as the younger woman nodded with a secretive smile before quickly hurrying off, Riza's letter clutched tight to her chest.

Riza watched the bookworm of a woman scurry off, a fond smile plastered to her face.

* * *

"Fullmetal, what are you doing? Alphonse said you found something," Roy rose an eyebrow when he saw Edward crouched down by one of the corpses, holding something in his hands.

Ed nodded, his voice low, "I found a few corpses to look familiar earlier, but now I've taken a closer look,"

Roy's expression saddened, his voice soft, "...War buddies?"

Ed quickly shook his head, standing up and turning toward Roy, "No, no, not like that," he held out the thing he was holding in his hand previously and revealed to be a piece of fabric, "This is what I mean,"

Roy's eyes widened, "But this-"

Ed's eyes narrowed, lips set in a thin line, "-is one of our own,"

The emblem of the State Military was sewn into the back of the Aerugo emblem, covered in blood.

 **What could Aerugo be hiding? And why the double emblems on the soldier's uniforms? Suspense! ^^**


	24. Deception's Game

**A/N:** Like some (or many) of you may have noticed too, there are similarities between the fictional countries of Drachma and Amestris to real world countries (Russia and Germany respectively). I've done some research, Arakawa herself stated it to be non-intentional, but in this story, the similarities may get a bit more obvious, due to introducing Drachma and particularly its leader and forces a bit more closely. The uniforms of the Drachma soldiers remind me a lot of the real-world Russia, which is why I'll have their names sound Russian too. The same applies to Aerugo and Xing (Italy and Asia region) respectively.

 **HINT:** The name Olivier says later in the chapter is the name of Drachma's leader/king/Tsar.

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **UnluckyAlis:** Thanks for the compliments! I originally thought it might be interest to see him carrying a pocket watch, but then found it unpractical due to the combat situations he is and that normally military don't give out these watches so I changed it to be on his dog tag. :) And thank you for always reviewing, seeing each review always makes my day and gives me more motivation to write sooner! :3

 **JirachiAtSundown:** haha I'm flattered, thanks for reading further JAS! :) I had a moment where I laughed that my story is able to compel people into reading more after randomly stumbling upon a chapter, never thought one of my stories would! ^^

 **FireAngel:** Before I reply to your review, let me just say – you actually have the same username I did in an online game once (called OGame) in Universe 35. I'm sorry, lol, random fact but it just got my attention and I had to say it, brings back memories haha. Anyway, thank you so much for posting this review and liking my story! :) Well, I wouldn't say it's the best or among the "better ones" but I guess it's half decent, there's still a lot to be fixed and improved and I've taken up writing again after years of not writing anything so I'm still a little rusty. :P Thanks for mentioning my OC, I thought she was a Mary Sue, but I'm glad that's not entirely the case :) I plan to mention Envy and his involvement with Lena in later chapters though, so no worries. ;)

 **Hirude:** (rubs tear away) Thank you for the kind review, I'm glad to know the plot isn't as lacking as I think it is! :) But if you have any suggestions for improvement feel free to tell me, I appreciate any help! :D

* * *

 **Deception's Game**

 _Previously on 'Letters from War'…_

 _"_ _Fullmetal, what are you doing? Alphonse said you found something," Roy rose an eyebrow when he saw Edward crouched down by one of the corpses, holding something in his hands._

 _Ed nodded, his voice low, "I found a few corpses to look familiar earlier, but now I've taken a closer look,"_

 _Roy's expression saddened, his voice soft, "...War buddies?"_

 _Ed quickly shook his head, standing up and turning toward Roy, "No, no, not like that," he held out the thing he was holding in his hand previously and revealed to be a piece of fabric, "This is what I mean,"_

 _Roy's eyes widened, "But this-"_

 _Ed's eyes narrowed, lips set in a thin line, "-is one of our own,"_

 _The emblem of the State Military was sewn into the back of the Aerugo emblem, covered in blood._

Mustang was rubbing the bloodied fabric between his gloved fingers, a frown marring his face as Edward started talking, "If you ask me, we need to have a word with the arrogant prince. Something's not right. Why would they sew double emblems on their people's uniforms? And why ours? We have signed a peace treaty with them and we hadn't had any aggressive encounters since the thing with Fotset a way back. _They_ were the ones supporting the Ishvalan's during the war _before_ we realized we were killing innocent people! Sure, they helped them defend themselves, but they were still meddling in our affairs and we never forced any consequences upon them for their past actions," Ed paused, pacing back and forth with his hands tightly clasped behind his back, "It's in the past, but I don't like where this is going. What the hell is Rico thinking?"

Roy remained quiet for a while, staring at the bloodied emblem of his country, "Did you find anything else that might give us more clues to this?" he motioned toward the fabric in his hand but Ed shook his head, crossing his arms as he leaned against a tree.

"Al and I searched the bodies but we didn't find anything else," his gaze narrowed, "You think this is a setup?" his voice dropped a few octaves, the gold in his eyes appearing like furious, molten hot gold, "…From Drachma's troops?"

Roy shook his head, "I don't think Drachma has anything to do with it this time. This is far too subtle for their style, Drachma is many things but subtle isn't one of them. We should contact Rico for more information, see if we can get an audience with him to explain all of this, until then we refrain from jumping to conclusions and raising an uproar among the others, understood Fullmetal?"

Ed frowned, but shortly after he mutely nodded his head, looking none too pleased with having to wait for an answer from the cocky prince.

Roy nodded affirmatively, standing up to write the telegram and send in for a soldier to bring it to their border's base.

It only took ten minutes for Roy to type the telegram before he called out the fastest soldier he knew, " _Ling!_ "

It was only seconds before the medic appeared in front of them, curious to find out why his superior called him.

Roy extended the letter to the medic, "Please bring this to Aerugo's border as soon as you can or rather, as soon as you see one of Aerugo's boys patrolling the area. Tell them it's only for the crown prince's eyes and that the matter is urgent," Ling took the letter, safely storing it in a small but fitting leather bag strapped across his chest slung at his back before he gave his other superior a probing look.

"….Did you do something again, Ed?" his teasing remark was met with a furious gaze and twitching fingers that promised pain beyond the blond's control should Ling not leave this instant.

Taking his reaction as a good sign, Ling grinned teasingly and ran off, the wind disturbing Roy's hair slightly when Ling rushed past him with speed unmatched by any other soldier here, "…Am I glad he's on our side," he sighed.

Ed snorted, " _He_ should be glad he's on _our_ side and not suffer through the occasional friendly fire from _me_ ," he growled, silently seething against his stiff posture against the tree.

Roy smirked, shaking his head, "You've matured over the years Fullmetal, dare I say became even collected, but I fear that temper of yours won't quite die out as quickly as I hoped," he grinned in amusement, chuckling.

Ed turned his scathing glare to the dark-haired man, "My temper won't die out as quickly as your usefulness in battle does during the rain," with that, he pushed himself coolly off the tree and walked away, smirking when he heard the inevitable enraged shouts of his superior threatening to burn him alive in his sleep one day.

 _"_ _Fullmetal!"_

* * *

 _"_ _Winry!"_ Mei nearly had a seizure, Lan Fan comfortingly patting her back when the smaller woman composed herself and straightened in her seat, "I can't _believe_ it! Didn't Lena teach you anything?!"

Said female's eyes widened and she looked curiously but slightly offended in the direction of the Xingese woman, who smiled sheepishly in her direction, "I-I mean, didn't Lena teach you how to flirt a little here and there? You know, it won't do any harm!"

Before Winry could get a word in, Lena still felt offended, "…. What's _that_ supposed to mean _'didn't Lena teach you anything'_? If my pupils at the defense course can learn self-defense in a month then my protégé can surely learn how to be smooth with men in less than two weeks!" she huffed, crossing her arms, all the while playfully ignoring her friend's attempts at apologies.

"…. _Protege_?" Winry shared a quizzical look with Lan Fan, who smiled behind the rim of her teacup and shook her head.

" _Two weeks?"_ Lan Fan's stunned tone drowned in her tea when Winry whirled her head around to send her a baffled look, the martial artist had the decency to look aplogetic.

Winry sighed, "Mei…I'm not sure if my poor… _flirting skills_ are the problem here. I mean, I didn't even _try_ to flirt with Edward anyhow so your argument is invalid! But anyway, Edward did block me out in some of our conversations whenever we talked about home or such. I'm not sure why, I feel like he is hiding something or doesn't want to tell me something," she frowned, wiping her sweaty hands against the smooth fabric of her worn pants.

Mei's expression turned grim and Winry noticed immediately, as did the expressions on Lan Fan and Lena's faces, "Huh? Guys? What-did I say something?" she looked at each of them multiple times, not understanding the sudden change in atmosphere.

Mei began quietly, staring at her teacup on the coffee table, "…Winry…" she sighed, looking her friend in the eyes, "Edward is a soldier, an experienced one from all the stories I heard so far. The _Fullmetal_ soldier, as they call him." Mei bit her bottom lip, "I never found out why they would give a soldier a name like that and Alphonse never told me but what I do know is that he was involved in some accident a few years ago."

Winry frowned, "…What…what kind of accident?" she never realized just how quiet her voice was.

Mei shook her head, "Alphonse didn't want to talk about it, but he said it had been horrible for him and his brother. He wasn't allowed on active duty at least for two years, however he managed to fully recover in a year." She sighed, "Alphonse is a bit different, he doesn't mind too much talking about home, but many other soldiers find it difficult,"

Lan Fan continued this time, sharing a look with Mei, "Yes…Ling is similar in that respect too, but when he stops being funny and optimistic, he sounds like a completely different person," Lan Fan looked down at her feet, her own eyes looking haunted, "I remembered him waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares after completing a few missions before the war broke out. He never told me everything in detail, he said he didn't want to worry me,"

Lena smiled serenely, taking a small sip of her own cup, "Yeah…I guess Greed's a better example. A large number of soldiers, especially those deployed on active duty, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and are plagued by nightmares or memories of the atrocities they've done and were forced to do during active duty in a warzone or while launching attacks at another country. I…" her hands tightened into fists, "I was always afraid what would happen if they sent him to the front lines, when the war would break out. Greed is tough, but…" Lena swallowed thickly, "It's never easy to see only the ghost of the man you've once fell in love with, changed by everything that happened and scarred by all the things he did,"

Winry found her voice again, finally, "You think…" her eyes widened and she buried her face in her hands, "How…how didn't I think of that? How can I be so stupid? I never really thought if Edward would be so strongly affected by it. I mean, I don't even know what to talk about to someone who's fighting for his life every day while I'm here perfectly fine and protected," Winry's eyes saddened, "I mean…how many interests could such two radically different people share?" she looked helplessly at her friends, "I never thought being a soldier was easy or didn't come with their own baggage but…I just don't know how to say the right words,"

Mei frowned, "I'm sorry Winry, I didn't mean to upset you I…" Mei hesitated, "I just…I wanted you to understand why Edward may be blocking you out or hiding something from you, I didn't want you to take it personally where you can't do anything about it,"

Lena shrugged, "Besides, in these situations there are never "the right words", at least I think so. I also don't think Ed expects you to, Greed says he just has trouble opening up,"

At that, Winry sighed, eyes drooping to gaze silently at her feet.

Lena cleared her throat, "Yeah, I mean ya can't put the blame on the girl for everything. Either way guys have their own periods or they're fighting in a war," she calmly drank her tea while Mei giggled and Lan Fan smiled behind her hand.

Winry lifted her head and giggled, nodding, "I guess…you're right," she quickly noticed three pairs of eyes watching her, "A-ah, I'm sorry for the suddenly gloomy mood everyone!" Winry scratched the back of her neck, sighing heavily, "I'm sorry…I guess I know a lot about tinkering with bolts and screws and less about some other things…"

Lan Fan smiled reassuringly, "I wouldn't worry Winry, there is nothing to be ashamed about. If we didn't have boyfriend's in the military, we wouldn't have a deeper understanding of it too," Winry sent her a small, appreciative smile, "Besides, it's not like we know everything about it either."

Mei nodded, "Mhm, that's right! I always thought wanting to join the military was stupid. I mean, who would want to willingly risk their life in a war?" she paused, thinking, "But then…I realized being a soldier wasn't only about the fighting and shooting enemies," she giggled, "Whenever a flood happens, soldiers are also sent out to help support victims and bring them to safety or support other people after terrorist attacks, natural disasters and anything the local authorities have difficulties handling." She smiled, "If Amestris wasn't such a military orientated country, I don't think our military would even be half as strong as it is now."

Winry rose an eyebrow, "Huh? What do you mean? Why wouldn't the military be as strong then as it is now?" but as soon as Winry uttered the words, she realized it, "Oh, I see, they wouldn't use the military for wars and militaristic conflicts with other countries but only use them for helping citizens." The women nodded.

"Still…I wish this war was over so they could come back…" Mei uttered quietly, staring out the window.

The others followed suit, every one of them feeling like a part of them was missing.

Except Winry that is.

* * *

"General Armstrong, sir!" a practiced formal shout cut through the rushing wind and snow as the tall blonde recognized the voice of her trusted right hand.

"What is it, Miles?" came the collected but cold voice of his superior.

The dark-skinned man didn't miss a beat, "General Mustang's base has been ambushed several days ago and their current location is unknown. A chopper spied Drachma's troops scouting the destroyed area but there seem to be no corpses save but those of a few Drachma soldiers."

Olivier smiled, "Good. Notify me if anything changes," Miles nodded silently, clicking his boots together and bowing in respect before returning inside Fort Briggs.

The blonde general stayed where she was, long corn blond hair disturbed by the harsh rushing wind blowing in her face but her gaze remained trained in front of her, particularly what she spotted in the distance.

Flickering lights.

The light was brief and barely visible thanks to the dense storm, but her years of combat training allowed her to develop a keen eye for detail and signs of danger on the battlefield. Flickering lights may be of no importance in a city full of lights, but this was a mountain area, scarce save for the large Fort of Briggs stationed there.

Flickering lights weren't a good sign, especially since they didn't come from any of her men.

Quietly, a large figure manifested behind her, watching the same spectacle she was with growing anger, "What should we do, General?"

Olivier remained quiet, gaze narrowing at the flickering lights, "We wait," her hand automatically went to the hilt of her rapier, a family heirloom, the blood rushing hotly through her veins, fingers tightening around the metallic hilt of her weapon, "Tomorrow at dawn, I want you to investigate." she turned her head slightly, "Make sure to not alert the enemy of your presence yet, if you manage take them hostage for questioning,"

The man behind her nodded, "Yes, General," he turned his back, ready to head inside the massive stone structure until he stopped himself, "May I say something?"

A brief moment of consideration before the reply came, "Go ahead,"

"The warm sun at my back and the harsh wind in my face…" he smiled, unseen by his superior, "Have you ever heard of that saying, General?"

Olivier smirked, "I haven't,"

The man with the mohawk stared up at the sky veiled in white and gray, "It is well known that sailors usually say that as a farewell, bidding good luck to their fellow sailors when they set out for the great sea. But I think it's fitting for the soldiers on land as well." He closed his eyes, smiling, "The warm sun at my back is the comforting hand on my shoulder that offers me strength and hope for my next battle," his voice hardened slightly, "The harsh wind in my face are my opponents that brandish their weapons and point their blades in my direction,"

Olivier hummed thoughtfully and silence settled between major general and captain before Olivier spoke up, "And what role do you see me take, Buccaneer?"

Buccaneer grinned, "I see you as the indestructible wall, sir," she turned her head slightly, eyes partially covered by her hair, "A wall so great that, while it blocks out the sun's warmth, it offers warmth and protection from the bitterness of the harsh wind and surrounds with a protective presence, never meant to break or crumble, even in the face of the strongest of storms just like Fort Briggs,"

With those words, she heard her trusted captain leave and a small smile broke out on Olivier's face.

Full lips fell into a dangerous scowl when the flickering lights appeared again and her sword made a metallic click as she unsheathed it slightly by pushing the sword out of its sheath with her finger, "Face my full wrath," her gaze hardened, jaded blues glaring daggers at the unseen enemy hidden by the snow, " _Borya,"_

* * *

A rumbling sound in the distance caused the tall, foreboding man to turn his head, steel grey eyes flashing, "Dimitri, Grigori, go and investigate that noise, _now_ ," the two soldiers to his right nodded quickly, disappearing soon out of sight thanks to the storm.

"My _Tsar_ ," his commander dropped into a deep bow before him, not daring to straighten his posture until the calm hand gesture of his ruler allowed him to break out of the bow.

"What did you find?" the thunderous, deep voice grumbled from beneath the heavy black beard, aging but burning grey eyes boring into his commander like bullets.

"We found the Amestrian's second base, destroyed, but no signs of their corpses, neither from Edward Elric nor Roy Mustang, sir," the commander was just a little shorter than his great king, donned in full battle regalia under the thick, warm winter coat issued to him by the military along with the dark fur hat on top of his head. A small, jagged scar ran diagonally from the beginning of his jaw to the side of his throat, the tissue faded and pale, obviously a scar many winters old already.

"Hm…" the Tsar's hands shook with barely suppressed rage and he quickly drew his rapier, the sharp blade warningly pressed against his commander's neck, "I shall not be satisfied with this answer, you are to send out more troops and make sure they are _dead_. I will _not_ stand for humiliation! Especially not by Bradley's inferior regime!" the blade briefly pressed tighter against the soldier's skin, but it was gone as soon as his ruler drew it out of its sheath.

The commander bowed again, "Yes, my Tsar," he saluted, before shouting out orders in their mother tongue at his men.

The emperor of Drachma closed his eyes, feeling the harsh wind burn his skin. The burning feeling was good, it meant he was alive for another day, alive to once and for all end the pathetic rivalry with Bradley and proclaim him the superior leader.

"Bradley…" hardened eyes focused in the direction where Amestris was, despite not seeing the country itself, he knew exactly where he was he was looking to, "This is only the beginning,"

* * *

Ignoring the burning in his legs, Ling jumped over uprooted trees and thick roots, dodging holes in the ground created by grenades and bombs. Stealthily avoiding any leaves and instead rushing on soft, moist ground, navigating through the terrain with relative ease. After all, this wasn't the first time he delivered a letter to Aerugo's border, but it has been a while since last time.

His stomach growled and he frowned, sighing heavily when his thoughts started straying to Lan Fan and the most delicious dumplings he ever ate when he still used to be at home.

He wondered how she was, how she spent her day, if she missed him, if she felt lonely or deserted. His heart tightened painfully but he shook the thoughts off. Lan Fan was a strong woman, even with him not there, he knew she was alright thanks to her friends and her own busy work.

He could feel the cold wind lessening, allowing a milder temperature to warm his chilled as hell bones.

Xing was a very warm place, the desert between Xing and Amestris was only further proof of that. Winters in Xing were never quite as cold as in Amestris, especially not like Drachma. Even in winter one was able to wear a thinner coat and maybe a scarf and a hat but not much else. He wasn't used to this sort of climate and he already had to deal with slowed reflexes and impaired movements weeks back.

Speaking of winter and coats, maybe he could buy Lan Fan a coat. If memory served him right, she had a thick winter coat and a lighter one he already bought her, but both coats were already well worn. Lan Fan was usually very careful and practical with her clothes, not buying new ones until the clothes she wore were well worn and sometimes even riddled with little holes, especially her socks.

Grinning widely like a fool, Ling allowed himself to think of his beloved girlfriend during his run when alarm bells suddenly rang off in his head when a man shouted from somewhere in the distance, " _Watch out!"_

It was a land mine.

 **Thank you for your patience dear readers! :) Suggestions and criticism for improving this story are welcome!**


	25. The Calm

**A/N:** Hi dear readers. :) I would only like to say that this story will get slightly darker the more chapters I write, either way I write subtle clues (foreshadowing) or I'll write out brutally direct scenes with blood and gore and basically everything fittingly meant to happen in a war. Of course, I won't forget the romantic aspect of the story (the ships xd) but I just like to remind that it's not the **'main aspect'** of story, just like it wasn't in the original _Fullmetal Alchemist_ series. :) Thanks for your attention and please enjoy the story! ;)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Cutepanda12323:** Thanks so much, I always look forward to your reviews! :) But if you have any suggestions to further improve or make the story more interesting, don't hesitate to tell me! :3

 **Unlucky Alis:** And thank you for always putting in the effort to write a review and give me inspiration to write! :) Now what sort of person would I be if I don't respond to my reader's comments? Granted, not all or many writers do so, but I always thought it difficult to communicate with readers that way. ^^ My thoughts exactly, their relations and partly geographical positions on the map as well as culture properties always gave me the feeling like it may be intentional since there are so many similarities. Ahh, interesting theory indeed, then again, as you already said, the uniforms would pose a problem. And stitched as they were, only _one_ side would be visible, which would make it difficult portraying their "double status" as soldiers from either country. Ohh, that _burns_ ;) I doubt Roy would appreciate that comment haha Don't worry, I don't plan on starting with killing off characters in at least a few chapters, besides there would be some foreshadowing involved so some readers are at least suspicious who could die first. Lol (that sounded so brutal ^^)

 **Beta Readers: Searching for a beta-reader for this story! :)**

* * *

 **The Calm**

"General Mustang, sir! A telegram for you just arrived!" a soldier bowed respectfully and held out the sealed letter to the stunned dark-haired male, who took it with a grateful nod and a dismissing gesture at the soldier.

Ed stared at the telegram, "Already? Was Ling so fast?" he scratched his head quizzically.

Roy turned the letter over and recognized the small but visible initials on the bottom right corner.

 _R.M._

Roy's eyes widened, "No, it's from Riza," quickly turning it around, he opened the envelope quickly and folded the letter open.

Edward was about to stand up and give the man some privacy but the firm voice of his senior made him stop, "Edward,"

Turning his head, he watched how Roy's lips tightened into a thin line, lines and creases becoming more pronounced and visible at his creased eyebrows.

"What is it?" he sat back down on a sturdy box, waiting patiently for Roy to speak.

He frowned, "Listen," his eyes scanned the letter again as he read the contents of it out loud, " _I just managed to contact Rebecca about that concert she said she was going to. The band's name is_ _ **F**_ _orever_ _ **P**_ _roud and at first it was a group_ _ **project**_ _made by the original band members, I think you should listen to them too sometime. However, they are_ _ **hard to find**_ _since they travel a lot._

 _-Riza"_

Roy's gaze lifted to meet Edward's confused expression and Roy turned the letter to show the emphasized, bold letters Riza specifically highlighted in her letter, "You see this, Fullmetal?"

Edward nodded, "She marked the words 'project', 'hard to find' and the letters 'F' and 'P'." raising a fair brow, gold eyes meet dark ones, "But what does she mean with that?"

Roy leaned back against the wooden beam supporting the temporary makeshift tent, staring at the letter in his hand, "This is new, she never mentioned anything with the letters 'F' or 'P' before." His gaze narrowed, "But it also says project and hard to find." He brought the piece of paper closer to his face, "If we read it in order, the coded message would say first 'F' and 'P' project is hard to find," he locked eyes with the younger soldier briefly, "'F' and 'P'? _Project F.P._?"

Edward crossed his arms, "Project F.P.? What's that?" he tilted his head to the side, searching his own memory for the words.

Roy shrugged nonchalantly, "If only I knew. It must be something important if she writes it in code, though." He frowned, rubbing his chin, "She also couldn't find it in the State Military database if she says it's hard to find…" a hum escaped the General's lips thoughtfully, resting his hand with the letter on his knee, "I'll ask Hughes, maybe his intelligence network could figure something out concerning the initials."

Reaching behind his back, he retrieved a lighter from his back pocket, holding the letter above it and clicking the lighter to produce the fire, setting the letter aflame. Both men watched, transfixed, as the white of the letter turned ashen black and it's remains crumbled to miniature pieces, effectively erasing its existence in this world with only a flicker of a flame.

Ed hummed thoughtfully, causing Roy to look up at him, "What's wrong?" the blond shook his head, gaze narrowed.

"I feel like…I heard of it from somewhere a long time ago. Project F.P…" he rubbed at his forehead, fingers massaging the sides of his head slowly, "F.P…. I'm sure of it, I heard or read it from somewhere…" he rubbed his chin, growing frustrated at his lack of knowledge.

Roy shook his head, "Whatever, it is, if Riza couldn't have found it in the database, it must be something the military either hasn't documented or is keeping secret." He looked at his gloved hand, "Maybe even something connected to Bradley and his schemes," Ed's eyes widened slightly.

"You really think the old geezer has anything to do with it?" he blew out a persistent strand of hair away from his eyes, frowning at it's annoying length, _"…Maybe I should cut it again…"_

Roy sighed heavily, "Maybe, it's hard to tell." He looked outside and his voice lowered, "We know he has a group of elite soldiers under his direct control, seemingly untraceable with our database and unknown to the military despite working in it. Maybe they use aliases to get by, but they must have aroused suspicion at one point in time." He looked back at Edward, particularly his arm, "After all, soldiers with special or unusual abilities are difficult to forget, don't you think Fullmetal?" he smirked teasingly and Ed scoffed, glaring at his superior.

"If you keep that up _General_ I sure as hell won't vouch you as my Führer, forget it," Roy grinned briefly before shaking his head.

"We've come a long way haven't we, Fullmetal?" he smiled fondly, "Sometimes, I forget what a brat you were in your academy days…you're still a brat but I miss that short fuse of yours someti-"

"Hey," the tall blond fixed his longtime friend and superior with a glare, "I can get that short fuse back no problem if you don't stop being an ass," Ed suddenly grinned, " _Colonel Smartass,_ "

Roy grit his teeth, standing up to his full height, taller than Edward's by a few inches, "Say that again, _mini-sized beansprout,_ " the hair at the back of Edward's neck stood on end and he bristled, a dangerous smile stretching over his lips.

He twisted his wrist, popping sounds sounding from cracking his knuckles, "What? Sorry, I didn't hear you-" suddenly Ed gained a downright devilish expression and Roy recognized it immediately.

"Don't you _dare_ , Fullmetal," his gaze spelled death itself.

Ed's grin only widened, "Oh I wouldn't _dream_ of it…" before promptly turning on his heel and breaking into a sprint, " _General Useless!"_

 _"_ _FULLMETAL!"_ the enraged shout was accompanied by thundering footsteps that unexpectedly halted when Roy crashed straight into none other than Hughes, who rubbed his head after the two men's heads collided together upon impact.

" _Argh!_ Roy! Take it easy!" Hughes rubbed at his throbbing forehead, shooting his best friend a dirty look.

Roy miserably rubbed at his own forehead, "…Sorry Hughes," he frowned, pouting like a child.

Hughes rose an eyebrow, "Now what were you up to that got you so riled up? Did Riza flirt with you through letters again?" the teasing grin on his friend's face caused Roy to become uncomfortably hot.

"No," he praised himself for not stuttering, "We were just about to be one man _SHORT_!" he shouted the next part, smirking in satisfaction when he heard a answering curse in the distance, undoubtedly coming from Ed.

Hughes crossed his arms, sighing and shaking his head, "What did he call you this time?"

Roy rolled his eyes, "The usual."

"Mini-skirt-army?"

"No,"

"Flame-brain?"

"No _,_ "

"Colonel Smartass?" Hughes rose an eyebrow, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

" _No!_ I mean _yes_ , but not just that!" Roy growled, gritting his teeth together tightly, "….He mentioned 'useless' somewhere too,"

Hughes grinned cheerfully, slinging an arm around his best friend, "Aw, Roy, don't be such a bum! Look! This ought to cheer you up!"

Suddenly, at least a handful of pictures was violently shoved into his face, smothered roughly against his nose and eyes by none other than an ecstatic Hughes, who kept rambling on in his ear all the while holding the pictures to his face, "Look! Do you see?! Elicia has a _pink_ dress on! _Pink! With ribbons!_ Look at that cuteness! Oh and did I show you the picture of Gracia yet?! She looks so _stunning_! Ah, my beautiful girls!" Roy tried to forcefully pry away Hughes' hand from his face but the excited man paid no mind, continuing to ramble on and on about his wife and daughter.

"And Gracia even sent me new pictures of Elicia when she helped her bake a cake in the kitchen! Did you see them yet? They're covered in flour! _Flour!_ Did you see how absolutely _adorable_ they were?!"

Roy sighed and asked himself what horrible atrocities he must have committed to endure this every day.

* * *

"Envy," the disguised figure turned his head slightly to regard the curvaceous woman leaning against a lamp post, "How long do you intend to keep up this boring charade? That woman hasn't given out any useful information and she won't either,"

Envy snorted, drinking the bitter tasting liquid that ran down his throat, "And how do you know that?"

Red painted lips stretched into a beautiful smile, "Call it woman's intuition," she casually examined her long, dark nails, giving Envy a side-glance, "Trying to interrogate his woman is pointless. We know now where he is so why try and risk her exposing our plans to him, hm? Surely, she would be smart enough to warn her beloved of our presence here," she watched her sworn brother drink the dark coffee, rolling her eyes when he grimaced at the bitter taste.

"The thing is, she didn't. I doubt she did anyway, Greed would already be here by now searching high and low for us, ya know?" he gazed at the stolen police car parked in front of the little coffee shop they were standing in front of thoughtfully, "Maybe she trusts me – to some degree – or maybe she doesn't feel endangered enough to tell him anything, whatever the hell it is, I'll take advantage of it," he crushed the paper cup in his hand and threw it in the bin, plucking his keys from his back pocket and walking over to his car.

Lust frowned, "Just be careful, Envy, one careless move and it may well endanger our plans," her gaze narrowed when he moved into his car and shut the door, only to speed off seconds later, "….and our lives,"

* * *

"Selim, you haven't eaten all your vegetables," his mother's admonishing but soft voice caused him to pout.

"But mother…you know I don't like broccoli," the woman sighed, fixing her son with a practiced stare.

"1…."

Selim's eyes widened, "But mother-!"

" _2…_ " Mrs. Bradley was undeterred, the dangerous lowering of her voice promising no good to follow if Selim didn't eat his vegetables _right now_.

"Fine…" with a quick shove, he forced the fork full of vegetables in his mouth, grimacing while he chewed on it but smiling widely when his mother smiled in satisfaction, petting his head and praising him for being a good boy.

A hearty chuckle escaped the Führer's throat from across the table, pretending to read his newspaper while secretly being amused at his son's expenses and Selim subtly glared at his father, who had a playful but secretive smile on his own face, fixing him with an amused stare, "Eat up my boy, you'll grow big and strong like your father one day,"

His wife smiled, "That's right, your father always ate his vegetables,"

The Führer grinned sheepishly, "Ah, well, I always did have an animosity to cauliflower…"

"Dear, please!" Bradley chuckled again when his wife fixed him with a look, causing him to reach across the table and affectionately pat her hand.

"Why, dear stop glaring at me so, I was just kidding." Looking down at his son, Bradley winked briefly and the boy grinned, nodding when his mother wasn't looking.

The woman sighed, shaking her head, "Oh what am I going to do with you," she rubbed her son's head affectionately and shared a warm smile with her husband, who returned her gesture wholeheartedly.

* * *

"Damn this stupid thing," Winry grit her teeth, pulling with all her might, to no avail.

She growled, throwing her wrench to the side in anger, nearly hitting her young apprentice at the same time, who released a short, shrill yelp and ducked just in time to dodge the violently thrown tool.

Winry smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Aaron…" she rubbed at the back of her neck, frowning when the sweat of the long day gathered in her gloves from behind her neck.

Aaron smiled sympathetically, washing his hands at the small sink in the garage, "You know, if you want to, miss Rockbell I could hold the fort until you're back from your break," he smiled kindly but in Winry's mind, horrific scenes unfolded of Aaron setting fire to the shop, possibly breaking all of her tools, staining her workplace and ruining her automail projects or angering the client when he came to pick up his newly repaired motorcycle and-

"A-ah, you know what? Why don't we take a break together? You've also been working hard since eight in the morning, I think a break would sound good, don't you think so?" she laughed, quickly standing up and dusting herself off.

Aaron blinked in stunned silence, before chuckling and methodically taking off his work gloves, "W-well, if you say so…" he smiled, unzipping the one piece working jumpsuit, a light blue color with the Rockbell logo on the back and placing it carefully on a hanger beside the door leading to the house.

Usually, Winry wasn't as methodical herself concerning hanging up her working clothes, but since a little accident a while back, involving Aaron and her burnt overalls, she had put up _safer_ rules to storing their working gear and thankfully, no accidents had happened thus far.

Nodding in satisfaction that the workplace was clean, Winry took off her bandanna and placed it on the hood of a car, grabbing the keys to her house and the shop along the way, along with her purse, "You ready?"

The young man nodded, waiting patiently outside of the shop so his master could lock everything.

He remembered how shocked and astonished Winry had been when she had first employed him and he called her 'master'. She had explicitly told him not to do so, since she wasn't anyone's 'master'. He still stuck to it at times, but altogether dropped it for her sake. However, he could and possibly would never drop calling her 'miss Rockbell'.

Not only due to being her junior by a few years, but also due to the immense respect he felt for her knowledge and tenacity to always finish her works and pulling so many all-nighters he himself hadn't – couldn't – have done during his high school times.

As they walked side by side toward a nearby café, Aaron cleared his throat nervously and Winry sensed he was preparing himself to ask something, she smiled encouragingly, "Go ahead and ask anything you want, I don't bite," she joked, patting him reassuringly on the arm.

He took a deep breath and blurted it out, "Uhm… I know it's not my business but…I-I heard you were writing to a soldier deployed at the borders," he watched her expression nervously, "I-I just wanted to k-know if w-what miss Lena said was true…" Winry braced herself for whatever question Aaron would confront her with, "Is it really true that you're star crossed lovers?"

Winry did a double take, nearly tripping over an innocently forth peeking piece of cobblestone and crashing head first into the ground if it weren't for her fast reflexes, her face resembled cherries, "W-what?! She told you _that_?!"

" _Oh, I'll kill that woman,"_ Winry's thoughts were about to take an even darker turn if not for Aaron's immediate, equally nervous response.

"W-w-well, she said t-that was the reason why you were happy and so worried sometimes, I j-just figured it was because of work," he scratched at the back of his neck, "I-I'm sorry if I disrespected you-"

Winry quickly shook her head, "Hey, I'm just a few years your senior, it's not that big of an age difference so please stop being so formal with me, alright?" she gave him a calm, genuine smile, "As for…what _miss Lena_ said," she grit her teeth, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance, "Edward and I are just friends, really. We've written each-other months ago and we video chatted through skype a few times too. He seems like a nice guy," she smiled at her walking feet, "Um…recently I've had the feeling like he often held back or didn't really tell me things that were going on," she looked at her young apprentice, "I want to help him, but I don't know how if he just stubbornly keeps keeping me out, you know? I know he must have a lot on his mind, things I don't even have to worry about in my condition here, but I just wish that I could be the friend he needs and not be afraid to tell me about the gory details,"

Aaron frowned, quietly watching his teacher look so crestfallen it hurt him, "I-I don't really know a lot about war or b-b-being a soldier and fighting on the front lines but…why not t-try to ask him d-directly?" his stuttering pattern improved slightly since he first came to Winry's shop but Winry could still see he needed improvement.

Aaron didn't have a medical problem concerning his stuttering, according to his mother, which Winry talked to a few times when the woman wanted to be updated on how her son was doing on his first part time job, much to Aaron's embarrassment, but his simply shy demeanor and general nervousness when faced with new or unpredictable events caused him to focus less on his speaking and more on panicking.

Things which have improved ever since working with Winry, where he had to get adjusted to shouting so she heard him over the loud roars of machines or occasionally speaking with gruff customers. Winry genuinely wanted to help the boy, he was so nice and sweet and hardworking. The only problem was…

When they were nearing the shop, Aaron suddenly froze, rooted to the spot, eyes wide in fright as if he had seen a ghost.

Winry stopped walking, blinking at the stunned boy, "Aaron? Is something wrong?" she waved her hand in front of his face, "Hello? Earth to Aaron?"

Slowly, robotically, he lifted a shaky finger in the air, pointing at the café. Winry looked in the pointed direction and immediately saw what the problem was.

A girl was just entering the shop.

A girl she knew Aaron was _very_ fond of.

Winry snickered, a devilish smile crossing her features, "Yes, that's right! There's the shop! Come on now Aaron, let's go we wouldn't wanna waste time!" she grinned widely as she tugged the shell-shocked man behind her.

When Aaron finally gathered his wits about him, his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw just _where_ they were going, "M-M-miss W-W-Winry, n-no p-p-p-please!" his stuttering, she learned, got far worse when he saw or was near the girl he liked.

Winry tugged harder, "Oh no! No buts and no pleas! We will go inside that shop no matter what!" She slapped his back encouragingly, causing him to squeak in terror, "Come on Aaron, there's nothing better than a good coffee, a tasty treat and a really cute girl to boot!" she winked playfully when she pushed him forward and he released another squeak of terror.

She supposed she was having too much fun at poor Aaron's expanse, but she had gotten tired from seeing him tiptoe around that girl for the past three weeks. Now was the time for _actions_!

Pushing open the door as loudly as she could, Winry happily grinned when she saw Garfiel behind the counter, whipping up another order for a customer, "Hi Garfiel!" she waved frantically and the flamboyant man immediately spotted her.

"Winry, my blonde working machine! How do you do?" he grinned widely, wildly beckoning the two of them over.

Winry grinned and forcibly pushed Aaron in the direction of the counter, grabbing his hand and forcing it to wave at the girl sitting at one of the tables.

The mousy girl immediately noticed them, rather had noticed them since they have shuffled their way till here and shyly waved back, a ferocious redness covering her entire face as she hid it behind her hair again.

Gripping the counter for dear life, Aaron looked like the life had been sapped out of him, "Now what can I get you two sweeties? Something sweet?" Garfiel winked, pointedly looking at the shell-shocked boy beside Winry.

Winry smiled, "Hmm…let's see…" she leaned in closer to Garfiel and the man immediately leaned his ear closer so Winry could whisper into it, "You see these two awkward messes?" Garfiel immediately spotted the blushing girl at one of his tables and the life drained boy at his counter, he nodded, "Right, our job is to at least get these two to subtly sit on the same table and strike up a conversation," he nodded seriously, straightened up and taking a deep breath.

" _BOYS YOU'RE ON BREAK!"_ Garfiel hollered so the whole shop shook and only seconds later, Winry could feel the ground beneath her feet vibrate as at least a whole football team dressed in white and pink aprons stormed neatly from the back of the kitchen, dutifully hanging their aprons and writing down their break times.

Winry blinked, watching as the men dispersed around the whole shop, taking every seat available except the one table where the girl sat and laughter and boisterous talking filled the previously quiet café, giving it new life.

Garfiel smiled satisfyingly and Winry shot him a look, "I meant _subtly!_ " she whipped her head around when a big man stared Aaron down, who looked like he would require a new set of clean pants as the boy quickly moved away from his seat and offered it to the big man.

Nodding his thanks, the man sat down next to Winry and did a complete one-eighty, smiling brightly and warmly welcoming her, "Why, miss Rockbell! So nice of you to visit our shop! I hope you like our chocolate soufflé!" he grinned, all white teeth, save for a gold tooth at the top right corner of his mouth. The man thankfully accepted a tall glass of milk from his superior and taking a sip from it.

Winry smiled pleasantly, "I do, Edmund! It's very tasty, my compliments to the chef!" she grinned when the whole shop roared in thanks, giggling at the men.

Garfiel smiled, "This should be interesting," he lowered his voice so only Winry and his friend heard, both looked at the nervous young man who watched the girl sitting at the table, stirring her coffee silently.

Edmund leaned back, whispering quietly, "What's his deal?" nodding toward Aaron.

Winry sighed, "He likes that girl over there but doesn't know how to approach her," she nodded at the sitting girl and Edmund nodded thoughtfully.

"Hold my milk," Winry dumbly grabbed the tall glass of milk and watched, transfixed, as Edmund walked around the counter and grabbed a plate, placing two chocolate croissants and a small decorative vanilla flower on top of the two.

Walking again around the counter, Edmund roughly grabbed a stunned Aaron by the collar of his jacket, pulling the chair out with his foot and promptly sitting the youth down before setting the plate of croissants between the two of them, sending them a pleasant smile, "I apologize for the delay, but here are your croissants, enjoy,"

Not noticing the stunned looks the two youths sent his way, Edmund smoothly sat back down on the tall bar stool next to Winry and grabbed the offered glass of milk she held out to him, "Thank you,"

Garfiel grinned, shaking his head proudly at the stunt. A slow, wide smile spread over Winry's lips and all three adults watched the future exchange between their two targets.

Aaron looked at the plate like a deer caught in headlights and the girl nervously looked at Aaron, "H-hi…" she jumped when Aaron looked at her.

"Ah, hi…" he scratched at the back of his neck, licking his very dry lips, "I-I-I I'm sorry if I-I rude you, no w-wait, if I-I _disturb_ you but um…" he quickly made up his mind, listening to his flee instincts, "I-I'll just go-"

"You can stay," both young adults looked at each-other surprised and the girl, dressed in an oversized sweater and simple jeans, smiled nervously up at him, "I…d-don't mind the company,"

Her face was red, his face was red, Garfiel kept biting his nails and Winry couldn't stop the shit eating grin from surfacing on her lips at the exchange.

Aaron blinked, "R-really?" at the girls' nod, he nervously sat back down, accidentally kicking one of the girl's legs when he nervously kicked with his own one, "Ouch!"

Aaron's mind went into overdrive, "Oh god, I-I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to I-" but then the girl started to giggle and he froze.

Straightening up from rubbing the sore spot on her knee, she gave him a small, shy smile, "That's okay, really, Aaron," she smiled kindly.

He blanched, "You…you know my name?" he swallowed.

She nodded, her face still glowing, "O-of course, we used to go to college together, after all…" she shyly adjusted the sleeves of her sweater, pulling them up to her elbow.

Aaron's eyes widened, "W-we d-did?! W-when? I-I-in what classes?!" he noticed the hurt look on the girl's face and he felt his heart drop down to his stomach.

She played with her fingers dejectedly, "W-we….we used to have computer studies and language courses together…I always sat at the back,"

Aaron stiffened, remembering seeing her a few times but thinking she was visiting a friend, he looked down at his shoes, "I…I saw you b-but…I thought you were visiting a f-f-f-friend or b-b-boyfriend,"

The girl looked up from her fidgeting fingers surprised, "Boyfriend? I don't have any," Aaron looked up at her stunned.

"…..What?" he tilted his head to the side.

She shook her head, "I…never had one," she cleared her throat, again pulling the continuously slipping down sleeves of her sweater till her elbows.

"Oh…" an awkward silence ensued and Winry started to feel awkward by this turn of events.

She leaned closer to Garfiel, "It's not going so well,"

Garfiel deadpanned, "No wonder if the boy didn't even know he went to her on the same courses," he rolled his eyes, "Men…sometimes I curse my sexual orientation and our gender," Edmund nodded, calmly drinking his milk as the boisterous talk started to die down slowly.

Aaron felt like a jackass, the girl he had liked for so long actually went with him to a few classes and he didn't even _know_?

He searched for something to say, wishing the ground would swallow him up, "Um…I know it's not going to justify my actions but I…" his voice dropped slightly, turning serious unlike his nervous, higher pitch earlier, "I was studying really hard to finish all my exams and I thought you would never hang out with a nervous, stuttering guy like me who tinkers with broken cars and likes to read romance and crime books…" he scratched at the back of his neck, "I also didn't want to get you in a bad light, since most people tend to avoid me…" he chuckled dryly.

The girl bit her lip, looking at the counter, "Most people avoid me too…" she smiled shyly, "…Do you like to read thrillers too?" Aaron perked up, watching her with new interest.

"Y-yeah…" a slow, small smile spread over his lips, "W-what genres do you read?"

The girl smiled, "Mostly thrillers and crime books too, but also a few historical romance genres. I always like when the authors write in great detail about a character's feelings and thoughts during the course of the story,"

Aaron rubbed his chin, thinking, "Cool. I a-always liked when there are many unpredictable t-twists in the story when you don't know who the bad guy is or if he is going to get caught. I like reading stories where the villains are flawed and actually likeable, you know like when a villain does something terrible for something good that's revealed later in the story,"

The girls' eyes lighted up, "Me too! I hate typically written Mary Sue's or such, even if it is fiction, it doesn't mean fiction itself should be flawed like that," Aaron chuckled and nodded, absentmindedly taking a croissant from the plate.

The girl blushed when he started to eat and Aaron froze, "W-what?"

The girl giggled, "Um…y-you have nice freckles," when Aaron's eyes widened, she quickly added, "I uh, I'm sorry it was really random b-but I just think t-they cute!" she realized her error and quickly tried to correct it, "T-they _are_ cute!"

They heard a distinctively slapping sound, but didn't bother looking up, otherwise they wound have seen Garfiel slapping his forehead.

Aaron roughly swallowed, wiping his mouth with a napkin before he smiled shyly, "I-I think you have a nice smile,"

Both looked at each-other before smiling brightly, the girl giggled, "I'm sorry, I'm usually not so awkward but uh, I just tend to get nervous I guess," she rubbed her hands against her knees, trying to dry them from the sweat gathering at the inside of her palms.

Aaron adjusted his shirt, "Yeah, me too." He smiled at her kindly, "If you w-want I could, I mean if you want to, uh, have something to drink?" he gestured at her empty cup and the girl flushed briefly.

"H-hot chocolate, p-please!" the redness in the girl's face intensified when she blurted it out rather loudly and Aaron chuckled, standing up and walking on wobbly legs, finally reaching the counter with a relieved sigh.

Garfiel grinned devilishly, "T-two hot chocolates, please," the man nodded and quickly went to work.

Edmund grinned and roughly patted Aaron on the back, "I knew ya had it in ya," he laughed.

Aaron coughed, sharing a look with Winry, who smiled reassuringly at him and whispered, "The girl seems really nice, what's her name?"

Aaron blushed, "A-Amelie…" he couldn't help but smile, "I can't believe she remembers my name,"

Winry smiled, "You don't worry about a thing Aaron. She seems to like you, remember to take it easy, you have all the time in the world to propose!" Aaron's eyes widened and he started stuttering again.

"P-p-p-pro-pro-p-pro-"

Garfiel bonked the small bell at the counter loudly and called, "Two hot chocolates for our lovebirds!" his crew released a resonating 'ohh' and when Aaron barely stumbled to the table, both his and Amelie's faces were as red as cherries.

Winry giggled and gave her nervous apprentice a thumbs-up, before drinking from her own coffee.

Garfiel leaned his elbows on the counter, a small smirk on his face, "So, deary, tell me, how is our handsome soldier hunk doing?"

Winry froze and choked on her coffee.

Edmund laughed.

* * *

The intense ringing in his ears didn't stop for several long minutes, not even when he steadied himself against the tree he had landed in.

Rubbing his pulsing head, Ling checked himself for any injuries, finding only scratches. He thanked his lucky stars.

Usually, soldiers often lost limbs and died from land mines, but thankfully, the warning that Ling had heard only seconds earlier allowed him to jump away just in the nick of time.

In war, every second counted. Every second was precious and was, in more than a few cases, the deciding factor between life and death and Ling was thankful for the few seconds that had saved his life.

Looking at the crate-like shape in the ground from where the land mine exploded, Ling scanned the area around and finally found what he was looking for, the soldier that had shouted the warning.

His gaze zeroed in on the color of his uniform, red. Aerugo's color. A white two headed bird symbolized the soldier's country on his shoulder and Ling jumped down from the branch.

"That was close, are you alright?" the soldier's expression was worried and Ling took note of the medic pouch at his hip.

Foot soldiers usually only carried the basics of medical supplies with them or mostly none at all, usually medical staff carried first aid kits or pouches with them.

Ling calmly approached the soldier, dusting himself off, "Yes, I have to thank you for warning me though or I would have been a goner," he scratched at the back of his neck, "Are those your land mines?" the soldier smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, I'm sorry, if I'd seen you sooner then-" Ling held up a hand, smiling reassuringly.

"It's alright, I was careless in the first place, absorbed in my thoughts like I was," the soldier nodded and smiled back at Ling.

He scanned Ling from head to toe, "You're pretty fast, are you by chance Ling Yao? You're Amestris' fastest soldier, aren't you?" there was a look of awe in the solder's eyes and Ling felt bashful.

"Uhh, well I wouldn't say fastest. Perhaps second to my brother," he grinned, "Again, thank you for saving my life…" he looked expectantly at the soldier and the man understood, extending a hand.

"Lieutenant Vega, at your service," Ling smiled, shaking his hand.

The Xingese soldier's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the bag slung across his chest, finding the zipper and quickly plucking the important telegram from it, holding it out to the Lieutenant, "Please give this to your crown prince Claudio Rico of Aerugo. It is of utmost importance and for his eyes only," Lieutenant Vega nodded seriously, taking the telegram and safely storing it in the pouch at his hip and Ling was able to just make out small, sharp needles stored inside.

"Paralytic needles?" he couldn't help but ask, fascinated that the Lieutenant carried such medical tools with him.

The man, with dirty short cropped auburn hair and hard brown eyes blinked, "Yes," then he rubbed his face, "Of course, you're head medic Elric's right hand, aren't you? Of course, you would know of them," Ling grinned.

"I employ them myself during battle, quite handy if I say so myself," he smirked, chuckling.

The Lieutenant chuckled, "Yes…would you care to tell me how long these can affect a full-grown man? I'm afraid I've been given them mere hours and have no proper knowledge of them," the man smiled sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head.

Ling's eyes narrowed in confusion, "They've issued medical equipment to you?" he rose an eyebrow, "My apologies if I seem disrespectful, but usually such equipment is handed only to medically experienced staff since they paralyze a person upon contact,"

The Lieutenant froze for a minute, before he chuckled nervously, "Yes, yes you're right, unfortunately our own medics have fallen ill so some of their equipment has been divided among us foot soldiers," he smiled.

Ling smiled back pleasantly, clasping the older man on the back, "I see, well be careful with them, alright? Such needles can inflict potential damage to a human, the paralysis effect takes up to an hour at least."

The Lieutenant nodded, "Thank you, I'll be sure to use them wisely," he looked behind himself, "I shall be on my way, best to deliver this to the prince," he nodded once again at Ling, before disappearing behind the trees.

Standing there for several moments, Ling suddenly frowned.

Reaching a hand back and retrieving what appeared to be a rectangular device, Ling pressed a small black button and turned it on.

The screen flashed, showing a green patterned display along with a red, blinking dot moving steadily away from Ling's own position.

It was a tracking device.

 _An hour later… Royal Office_

"My Lord, a telegram has arrived specifically addressed to you," a tall dark-haired man with piercing brown eyes saluted and handed his prince the letter, leaving the room at the dismissive nod from his leader.

"Good," Claudio Rico smirked upon reading the contents of the letter.

His smirk widened when he came to the bottom of the page, turning to the officer behind his chair, "Contact General Mustang and Lieutenant General Elric's current whereabouts, have our soldiers scout the area," he leaned his chin against his hand, a small lazy smile on his lips, "Tell them…it's an urgent matter we need to discuss _personally_ ,"

 **Thank you for reading! :) Now why would Ling plant a bug on that soldier from Aerugo I wonder? Hmm…^^**


	26. Negotiations

**A/N:** Thank you all for reading so far! And I'm very, very sorry for the delay for this chapter and for the shortness! My internship at the kindergarten as well as school and personal life stressed me quite a bit and took a lot of my time so I was unable to write save for today (FINALLY).

* * *

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Unlucky Alis:** Haha well to continue our cycle, I thank you each and every time for bothering to review, since sometimes I myself find it difficult to think of what to write that can be helpful to the writer in a review ^^ Ah, well, maybe a bit longer than a few chapters, but I have to confess I'll have to kill off a few precious characters (not telling who! ;)). Ah really? Thank you! I always fear I don't include enough details in my writing, which is partially true, but please tell me what parts lacked details and I'll try to correct that ^^ Ah yeah, Lena, my sassy little martial arts queen haha :) I thought I didn't give poor Aaron enough 'screen time' so I had to include a bit more backstory for me :3

 **Guest:** Hi there, thanks for reviewing! :) haha Aw, thanks so much, I had to laugh when I read your review, I'm positively surprised my story can inspire such reactions :3 I can't write enough 'thank you's for your kind words haha they just made my day, thanks again :D Weeell…unfortunately I do plan on killing a few characters, but I won't reveal anything until that time comes ;)

 **JirachiAtSundown:** haha Wow, thank you so much! :) You can't believe how appreciated I felt after reading your particular review, because I know how it feels like having 200 stories favorited or stored somewhere and always waiting for updates or just re-reading them and I can't believe my stories would ever be among one of those so thanks a lot! :) I hope it won't get boring any time soon!

 **HotPotato:** No, you're not stupid. Well, Liet. Vega is still shrouded in mystery, but I'll reveal a bit more about him in the next chapter, so stay tuned! :)

 **Hirude:** (starts crying anime tears) Thank you Hirude! T_T I'm glad I'm not as predictably boring as I thought, (phew), as for the seven sins' pasts, I planned on expanding on them afterwards when the war starts to reach its climax don't worry ;)

 **Sherlsepeare:** I'm glad it helped! :) Ah…chapter-wise, huh…Hm, according to my currently scatter-brained self, I thought about 45-ish-50-ish chapters in total, but, since I always get new ideas and adapt them to the story, it may be longer, why? Is it boring already? (sweat drop) True, true, there's Edwin, then the Homunculi and Bradley, then the whole war and ofc our side ships :)

 **PinkythePet:** May I just say how adorable your username is? I was amazed how cute I found it XD Ah, thanks so much for the sweet compliments! :) I thought no one would notice the 'Hold my milk' sentence xd Oh geez, I hadn't expected so many to suspect Hughes…should I say with good reason or not? Guess we will find out in later chapters :P Huh, what? Spreading the word? O.O I actually do remember an anon user 'A Fan' reviewing a few of my stories before…oh dear, I hope they don't make any sort of rumors or something, otherwise I may get enraged PMs from authors about someone spamming their review boxes full of my name . But uh, thanks for telling me, I really hope nobody minds that.

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Negotiations**

"Ling, what took you so long?" Ed rose an eyebrow at the panting Xingese soldier, noticing the darker specks of gunpowder on his uniform, "Were you attacked?" he waved his brother over but Ling raised a hand.

"I'm fine," he straightened finally, his voice raspy from panting so hard, "I gave the letter, but I suspect there's a rat within Aerugo's army,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, his face a mask of surprise, "Huh, a rat? How do you know that?" he crossed his arms and settled his weight on one foot, patiently waiting for his friend to speak.

Ling sighed, scratching at the back of his neck as he retrieved the tracking device from his back pocket, "That soldier, Lieutenant Vega, he warned me just before a land mine went off. I managed to jump away just in time, but that's not why I was suspicious," he shared a meaningful look with Alphonse, "He was carrying a medical pouch, containing paralytic needles," Alphonse's eyes widened.

"Paralytic needles? Maybe he used to be a member of the medical staff before," he rubbed his chin, soft, gold eyes slanted in worry.

Ling shook his head, absentmindedly fingering the hem of him uniform, "No, he himself said he had no knowledge of medicine. He said they were given to him 'mere hours ago' and that he had to proper knowledge of them," he turned his head to look at Edward, "He also asked me how long one of them could render a human immobile," Ling's jaw tightened, "I lied and said well over an hour. I was suspicious of his allegiance, so I thought lying was the best action,"

Ed nodded in understanding, squeezing Ling's shoulder, "Good. Keep track of him and inform us if you notice something odd." He looked at his brother, "You gather your men and check your supplies, we still have the emergency sets if you are running low," with that, he turned around to walk where Alphonse thought to be Hughes standing with Kimblee in the distance.

* * *

With a heavy sigh, Winry leaned back against the chair near the wall, chest rising and falling rapidly from getting so worked up over a stupid asshole over the phone.

A client called and said that his car was apparently malfunctioning again and that Winry didn't do a good job of repairing it, when she asked him what happened before that or if he drove the car at all, the man said he went on a week-long journey without _once_ cleaning his car.

The problem was he was a journalist traveling to all sorts of exotic places, those three places had such different climates from each-other ranging from bitter winter to the humid, moist atmospheres equivalent to a jungle.

Moistness, bitter cold and burning hot, add in some rain and fumes from other cars and possibly pollen from the trees and the car was ruined. Now, her client had a car which needed excessive maintenance, good cleaning rituals and the right oil, otherwise the car may malfunction.

There was a thin but sturdy layer of dust and dirt, pollen and other questionable, brown tinged substances coating the whole car, as her client explained and Winry barely withheld a biting retort about how he should get his _own_ hands dirty and clean his own car. The motor worked, it was driving but it was simply filthy.

Did the gentleman bother? No.

Did he care? No.

Did he want Winry to clean it for him? Oh _, yes._

Did Winry allow herself to be treated like his personal cleaning lady? _Hell no._

So, she hung up and told him to pick his car up and clean his own car himself, more than sure that she just lost a frequent client, until her temper got the better of her and she sent caution to the wind.

And now she found herself here, sitting on an uncomfortable stool with oily hands, greasy hair and a very bad mood.

She rubbed at the spot between her eyebrows, sighing long and hard and coughing when she inhaled the foul-smelling stench in the air from the open car.

Standing up and dusting off her work clothes, she made her way over to the front of the garage and opened the sliding door, taking a lungful of fresh air.

She relished in the quietness of her neighborhood briefly, before returning to her seat and sitting on it heavily, rubbing at her head.

Her face suddenly grew how when she unwillingly remembered the embarrassing conversation she had been forced to endure at Garfiel's patisserie shop the other day. Well, she supposed karma payed her back after putting poor Aaron into an embarrassing situation himself.

 _But still!_

It had actually _clicked_ between the two! Aaron couldn't stop talking about her all the way to the shop and Winry had a hunch the reasons why he repeatedly burned or wedged his fingers somewhere wasn't because he was clumsy.

Well…he _was_ clumsy, but not _that_ clumsy. More like, his mind had been preoccupied with thoughts about Amelie.

Winry smiled, she was such a sweet girl, waving goodbye to everyone when she left and shyly giving Aaron her number before practically fleeing with a red face. She had been sure Aaron had quite possibly suffered a mini heart attack too.

That brought her again to the conversation with Garfiel…

 _A few days ago…_

 _"_ _So, deary, tell me, how is our handsome soldier hunk doing?"_ Garfiel had inquired with the most devilish expression she had ever seen on a human being, all mischievous and teasing.

Edmund had not been any help either, with him nearly having a breakdown about how Winry could get hot guys and he had trouble finding any decent ones at all.

Well…

" _H-he's fine,"_ she had stammered, desperately trying to calm her racing heart and trying to tell it to _shut up_ because she certainly didn't feel like that about a guy she barely knew and never even met in real life!

Garfiel had only rolled his eyes dramatically, snorting in disbelief, " _Hmpf, directly to the point I see? Come on my blonde working machine! I need more details! Do you have any juicy pictures to share?"_ Edmund grumbled in agreement, silently sipping his milk as he carefully watched the different shades of red her face turned into and thinking he should call an ambulance least she suffered blood loss to her brain.

" _Of course not! Garfiel! He's a soldier, not some stripper!"_ Winry had tried gaining some semblance of control and dignity by drinking her coffee, under the watchful gaze of Garfiel, " _I barely know him, we've written each-other letters for a few months and we video chatted a few times due to his busy schedule…it's nothing big,"_

And of course it wasn't. It was simple. She had signed up for a 'letters to soldiers' program in order to do something helpful and productive in her free time and help people in need and that was what she was doing. Except that, Edward, in his own way, was also helping Winry.

Helping her to beat away her loneliness…

Garfiel had impatiently tapped his fingers against the counter, looking unimpressed and downright disappointed, " _…Pictures?"_

Begrudgingly so, Winry had shoved her phone in his face and had been _mortified_ to learn Garfiel had caught her red handed, " _YOU MADE A SCREENSHOT OF HIM! DAMN I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU, GIRL!"_ Edmund nearly spat out his milk and eagerly leaned over the counter in order to see the picture of the supposedly handsome soldier.

Winry had never blushed as hard in her life as she had then, as a few employees from Garfiel's shop walked over to them to see Edward's picture for themselves.

 _"_ _Damn, that boy is ripped, is he taken?"_

 _"_ _Winry, how old is he? You think it's legal if I chat him up?"_

 _"_ _Is that gold?! Wow, that man is as handsome as they come. I say take the next plane and get him before some other military chick there does!"_

Edmund's commentary hadn't helped her at all, with him starting it with a loud whistle, " _Damn, he's got some guns packing and not the metal ones either! Bet they are loaded, ain't they? Maybe something else is loaded too,"_ he had giggled at his own dirty joke and Winry had half a mind to throw her cup at his head.

Garfiel meanwhile had shushed his men, zooming in on Edward's face and every part of him to scrutinize him further, " _Heh, can't be disappointed by soldiers, they need to have the stamina to survive those brutal training rituals. Solid muscle, not bad looking…not bad looking at all."_ He gave Winry her phone back and his voice turned deathly serious, " _You won't be young forever, I say get him or_ _ **I**_ _will get him,"_

 _Flashback End_

That last sentence Garfiel had uttered must have been one of the most disturbing things Winry had heard grown homosexual men say in a while. And she had heard a lot.

She giggled to herself, shaking her head. As annoying and impossible her friends were, they were precious with all their little flaws.

Speaking of little flaws…

Winry grabbed her phone from the rusty metal table, speed dialing Lena's number and waiting to see if she picked up.

It was past four in the afternoon, surely her defense course was finished already…

On the fourth ring, she finally picked up and before the woman had a chance to say a 'hello', Winry beat her to it, "You told Aaron Ed and I were star crossed lovers?!"

A short pause on the other line and she could hear Lena's snort, " _Gee, hello to you too blondie."_ Some rustling and shuffling and Winry heard Lena's voice clearly again, " _Hey, the boy deserves to know, least you startle the poor boy with lewd pictures of your man all over your work place!"_

Winry could _hear_ her blood pressure rising, "You're poisoning his innocent mind!" she grit her teeth, already feeling a pressure in her head for even trying to make sense of Lena's words.

The woman was as casual as ever, " _Pff, you're one to talk, don't think I don't know that dirty little screenshot you took of Edward that's on your phone!"_

Winry froze, a mess of jumbled thoughts and highly-strung nerves, "W-what? How d-did-"

Casual. As. Ever. " _I hacked into your phone, no big deal,"_ Winry was quite sure the impulsive twitching of her right eye wasn't random.

"You _hacked_ into my phone and went through my photos?! Lena! That's a breach of privacy!" Winry shouted into her phone, grabbing a hex lag screw and wishing it would go through Lena's head.

The woman _laughed_ , " _Aw, come on! Don't pretend like I never broke the law a little! Besides, we're friends, right? There's nothing we hide from each-other!"_

Winry deadpanned, "You never hacked into Riza's phone,"

" _Well, that's because she'd shoot me dead if I ever did. And who the hell would scar their mind permanently with dick pics and naked pictures of Roy Mustang?"_ she made a gagging sound and Winry couldn't help but expel a shaky sigh, shaking her head.

"You can be so crude and yet so surprisingly shy sometimes…" then an idea came to her, "What if I were to hack into your phone and search for pictures of your boyfriend, hm?"

Winry knew she won the unspoken battle the moment Lena's voice went a higher pitch, " _Feel free to, I got nothing dirty to hide unlike you sexual deviants, ha!"_ the pitch grew even higher when WInry said this,

"And screenshots from your video chat sessions?"

" _YOU EVIL WOMAN! Argh! Alright, alright, I'll never hack into your phone again! Geez, no need taking out the big guns, okay?"_ Winry laughed at Lena's funny reaction, feeling a bit of pride at having won such a trivial and childish 'battle'.

Lena giggled too, amused by the whole situation, " _Anyone, anything new from Ed?"_

Winry smiled a small sad smile, thankful that Lena couldn't see it, "No, he hadn't answered my last letter and he hasn't been online in a few days either. I suspect he's busy with everything that's going on,"

Lena, one to be known for her people skills and reading of the mood, offered softly, " _Want to go out with the girls? I'm sure we could all use a bit of a break from work and the crap that's the real world,"_ she giggled and that made Winry giggle a bit too.

She couldn't deny she was feeling slightly weary from work and everything, especially after that stupid customer riled her up so much in the morning and now as well, "Sure, why not. Should we meet up at your place with the others and see where we go?"

" _Mhm, sure thing, let me just write in our group chat so the others know too. Ah and Winry?"_

Winry perked up curiously, pressing the phone closer to her ear, "Yeah?"

" _Grab a few sweets, I have a feeling like today is gonna be a long night,"_

Winry laughed so hard she didn't care that a few passerby's gave her strange and partly frightened looks.

* * *

Roy smirked, rubbing his knuckles against his uniform as he walked with his men over to their destination, "I can't believe I'm being ordered around…"

Edward deadpanned beside him, "Really? I thought dogs are used to playing fetch and roll over," Roy shot the younger male a glare but Edward ignored him, trekking calmly through moss and moist earth.

"Anyway, Rico said he wanted to talk to us personally, why the _hell_ should we go to him instead of him coming to the border?" Ed huffed in annoyance, rolling his eyes, "Lazy bastard,"

Roy couldn't help but agree silently on that, looking over to his right, "Now, I don't want to sound rude or anything but…why in the world did you come too?" he tilted his head to the side, sporting a very confused look.

Greed scoffed, "I'm feeling shitty and I got a bone to pick with his royal Highness,"

Ed watched Greed's movements from the side, noticing how they've gotten noticeably smoother since the last few weeks. His recovery was going surprisingly well, but he still didn't trust him fighting anytime soon should it come to that.

"Feel any pain?" he knew it was a bit of a dumb question, considering the state of Greed's injuries, but he was sure Greed knew what he meant.

The dark haired Xingese man sighed, "Chest feels like Lena kicked me for not buying any sweets and my stomach feels like Lena fell asleep on me the whole day,"

Roy's eyebrow shot to his hairline, "….Ah…"

Ed smirked, "Good, another week and you're good to go again Greed," the older male grumbled, but nodded, walking alongside them with two dual pistols strapped to his hips and grenades attached to his belt. Carrying any sort of rifles or other weapons across his chest or on his torso was out of the question for now, at least until he fully recovered and could move without any outbursts of pain or wounds reopening.

"So, you think the asshat was lying about the base?" Greed rose an eyebrow curiously, waiting for either Roy or Ed to answer.

It was Roy that answered, "Not lying per see…'keeping information' may be a better term," he looked at Greed and held his gaze for a moment before scanning the trees, "But he did agree to meet up and talk, so at least we know his allegiance isn't divided,"

Greed snorted skeptically, "Doubt it, bet the stupid prince would turn tail and run as soon as Bradley catches wind of our secret meetings and tea parties Aerugo would be bombed the next day," Roy laughed quietly, but silently agreed, knowing just how strained Aerugo and Amestris' relationship still is thanks to Bradley's interference.

Had Grumman taken the position of Führer, perhaps relationships with the rest of the countries would have been better as well. Drachma may have still posed a problem, but negotiations may have been in the works with that country as well, considering Grumman's more lenient nature as opposed to Bradley's.

They were approaching the border to Aerugo now and they could already see guards stationed in the distance, rifles cocked and aimed at them, not yet recognizing their uniforms.

One of them shouted out a few feet away, "State your identities!"

Roy didn't miss a beat, "Roy Mustang and Edward Elric from Amestris!" he held the telegram up in the air, "His Royal Highness Claudio Rico has asked for an audience at the Royal Office!"

The taller guard motioned for the smaller one to run up to the group and retrieve the telegram while he still aimed the rifle at them. They remained perfectly calm and non-threatening as Roy handed the slip of paper to the guard.

The boy, looking no older than Ed himself, quickly read over the contents and scanned the letter for its validation, confirming his countries' signature crest in the form of a stamp at the top right corner of the telegram.

Turning back to his partner, the smaller guard waved his hand calmly and his partner dropped the rifle allowing the group to continue walking.

Once they reached the other guard, the man regarded Roy familiarly with a salute and a respectful handshake, "My apologies, one cannot be too careful in times such as these," Roy nodded in understanding, offering a small smile back, "Word has it that impostors roam the area around Amestris and Drachma, posing as soldiers from varying countries to create internal strife," his gaze narrowed, "They've been stealing uniforms off the dead bodies of fallen soldiers and caused our own defenses from dwindling due to sending our tracking parties around to investigate," he shrugged, inclining his head to his partner and himself, "You looked a bit shocked with just the two of us here, but Aerugo never did have much of a military might, it's a miracle we're still standing, considering things," he shrugged with a small smile.

Roy frowned, placing a hand on the other man's shoulder in sympathy, "I understand, I can't make any promises, but as soon as everything is resolved, we'll try and lend you some of our men to help rebuild Aerugo to its former glory and restore peace between us, it's been a long time after all,"

The other guard laughed, nodding his head, "It has certainly. As long as Bradley is on the throne, I doubt such peace may even come," Roy smiled sadly but squeezed the other man's shoulder again and they group briefly said their goodbyes to the two guards before continuing on into the city, being allowed entry upon showing the telegram and stating their identities.

It didn't surprise them at all that they had to further trouble navigating through the relatively sparse streets toward the royal building looming over most other ones, effortlessly bypassing stationed guards outside and within.

Inside, two guards standing at attention on either side of two large double sided doors, a dark burgundy decorated with intricate gold designs on its wooden texture, opened them for the group and Greed muttered under his breath, "Creepy little stalker," as they finally entered the spacious office of none other than Claudio Rico himself.

His office reflected every bit of the ruler's own persona.

Two lush chairs, appearing slightly Xingese in their design, stood in front of a large glass table, a map trapped in between two pieces of thin glass, the surface already marked with red, blue, green and brown markers, some lines lead to other countries, others encircled individual territories of potential importance to Aerugo, while others, most notably in red, marked the land of Drachma.

Rico remained seated calmly in his high, dark red chair, the deep red cushioning appearing slightly small to fit his broad shoulders and the golden ornaments on his uniform, a smirk curling his lips as he calmly regarded his old friends.

"You don't waste any time do you, my impatient friends?"

Ed snorted, marching right up to the cocky prince and slamming his hands down on his spacious, mahogany desk, immediately two guns were pointed at him and Greed fingered the shaft of his own gun at the open display of threat at his superior.

Rico's smirk didn't vanish, he felt the vibrations caused from Ed's hands slamming against his desk and shaking everything on it, including creating a small but visible mark on the now splintered wood.

"What the hell is your plan, Rico? Whose men are the dead soldiers at your base? And don't even think about lying to us or you'll get reacquainted with _this_ ," Edward lifted _that_ arm up, curled into a fist and Rico placatingly lowered it back down with a white gloved hand, leaning back in his chair again.

"You haven't changed much Edward, save for looking older," Rico held a hand up, forcing his subordinates to lower their weapons and sheathe them, the blond's gaze narrowed crossly at the sitting prince.

Roy stepped up, far more calmly than Ed had, "Forgive us for the sudden intrusion we need clarification concerning those soldiers. This isn't a light matter and it could very well escalate into lifting our shaky peace treaty, Rico,"

Rico sighed, clasping his hands closed in front of his face and looking at each of the Amestrian soldiers in his office, "As stated in the letter, you're a fool Elric, as are seemingly all of you,"

" _Why you-"_ Greed stepped forward, close to drawing his concealed gun, until Roy stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

Rico cut him off curtly, "However, let me enlighten you. The dead soldiers are rogues we have beat in combat a month ago. I assume you have seen the double emblems on a few of them, yes?" at this, a bloodied scrap of fabric was thrown in front of him on the desk, by none other than Edward.

Ric's gaze traveled briefly to it, before moving back up to focus on his guests, "This was meant as a deception on our part," the standing soldiers froze and Ed shared a look with Roy over his shoulder.

"Deception? Aimed at whom?" Roy rose an eyebrow questioningly.

Rico smirked, "And I thought the great Flame surely would have seen through it," Roy's gaze narrowed warningly, and Rico relented at last, "None other than Drachma, of course,"

Stunned silence filled the office and Rico used the opportunity to explain, standing up and turning his back to his guests, staring at another large map in front of him stuck to the wall, "Drachma is our common enemy as you are well aware," his smirk dropped, gaze darkening, "Only last week, many of my men died as a result of an unexpected ambush coming from Drachma," his fists tightened behind his back, "Aerugo draws its primary strengths from its economy and culture and little on military unlike the bigger countries. That is to say we are more than capable to defend ourselves against any hostile actions, but Drachma seems to be more than what we are equipped to deal with,"

Roy frowned, "I understand your situation, but why the double emblems?"

Rico smiled, "Tell me, have you seen a particular thing about those dead soldiers and their emblems when you found them?"

For a moment, nobody in the room said anything but then Ed's eyes widened in sudden realization, "Some of the emblems showed Amestris' and Aerugo's insignias. Not all of them showed the Amestrian emblem until I returned later to double check,"

Rico nodded, "Correct, Elric. Not every soldier's emblem faced the side your emblem was on or my own. They were mixed, about equally so many 'Amestrian' soldiers and 'Aerugo' soldiers if memory serves me right," he tapped his forehead with his index fingers, closing his eyes briefly to relive his memory.

Roy stiffened, realization dawning on him, "I see…you wanted Drachma, if any of their men came upon the camp, since it is in the vicinity of their border, to think we were at hostile relations so that Drachma may use you against us in the near future, thinking they had an ally…"

Rico smiled and nodded again, "Well thought Mustang and I thought you lost your touch with old age,"

"… _Old_?" Roy deadpanned, sighing.

Rico turned around again to regard them all, "I think it's safe to assume you understand my viewpoint," the cocky smile was back.

Greed growled, "I would like to see things from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass," Rico chuckled, not seeming the slightest bit offended where his guards glared at Greed's crude speech.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't dear Greed," he smirked, "Tell me, does your beloved still receive my letters? I've sent her some lilies and petunias, but I never get any replies," he sighed over dramatically.

Greed barked, "That's because I burn your stupid petunias and your stupid ass letters,"

"How cold," Rico placed a hand mockingly over his heart, "It wounds me so,"

Greed crossed his arms, the tension in the room rising alarmingly, "I could eat a fucking bowl of alphabet soup and shit out a smarter statement than that you horse faced piece of-"

"How dare you insult the Crown-!" one of the guards aimed his rifle at Greed, who was prepared to draw his own weapon until Rico firmly grabbed the shaft of the rifle and lowered it down.

"Stand down, these people you see here may be uncultured idiots, but they pose no threat," Rico voiced loud and clear, sending each of his guards a firm glare.

Ed crossed his arms, "Gee, thanks…" muttering under his breath.

Roy cleared his throat, sending Greed a disapproving look before attempting to diffuse the situation, "Rico, I apologize for my subordinate's crude behavior, but may we further negotiate our next steps concerning this war and your own agenda against Drachma,"

Rico regarded the group for a moment, before waving his hand dismissively and motioning outside, "Shall we discuss this over some tea?"

Greed swore he would rip that smirk off the bastard's face.

 **I'm a sucker for wisecracking Greed ^^ Please tell me what you thought so far! Again, sorry for the short chapter, life has been slapping me left and right . "**


	27. The Sound of War

**A/N:** Hello everyone, I'm **_so_** sorry for the sudden dry spell but I had been stumped about RL and needed a break to sort things out. Oh and I had a sudden writing inspiration for another fandom (Miraculous Ladybug lol) so I waited and waited until I finally _could_ write a new chapter and here we are :) I'll edit this chapter and lengthen a few parts so check up on it a day or two later again. Thank you all for being so patient with me.

 **MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! :) I hope you all had a blast!**

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **AutomailSucker:** Thank you so much for understanding! And I'm really sorry for taking so long, I actually wanted to update 2 weeks ago but I had some trouble writing the…sad scenes at the border ^^

 **Hirude:** Ah, sorry if it was confusing, sometimes I confuse myself lol. Well, I planned to reveal it another time but I already wrote out (…intimate) scenes and moments between Winry and Ed and I hope I get to update quicker so you can all read them ^^ haha I suck at writing romance so I hope I did well on those. ;)

 **JirachiAtSundown:** …T_T I never thought one of my stories would be loved so much as to be favorited and followed and actively searched out! You just made my day, thank you so much (wipes away tears of joy) Aw, who's cutting onions in here again? Damn. Ahem, really? I read up on far better war fics than mine and they deserve all the praise and attention they get haha. I'm surprised so many people like my story, really. I actually wrote a few (…intimate) Edwin scenes ahead, which will be published a bit later in the story as the war progresses and all :P I hope I won't mess that one up haha. Thanks for always reviewing, reviews always make my day :3

 **Enjoy!**

 **Updated (new content): 07.01.2018**

* * *

 **The Sound of War**

 _A turbulent period of great upheaval shall come and bring with it the fruits of despair…_

As it turned out, they _did_ discuss it over tea and biscuits, which tasted like shit, if one were to listen to Greed's biased opinion.

For Ed, this whole discussion smelt like shit.

From the moment they've set foot in the office, Rico had been playing a game.

As conniving and tactical as the man was, Edward had no doubt he pursued ulterior motives in accordance to survive this war that was steadily spreading out over other countries. In the declaration of war, it may formally be stated it to be between Drachma and Amestris, but everyone knew this was so much bigger than just these two countries.

Ed frowned, thoughts still occupied by the conversation with Rico.

 _Conversation with Rico in the Office_

 _"You mentioned deceiving Drachma, exactly how well could this play in both our hands without testing Borya's fury even more and risking losing more of my men?"_ Roy had been careful with what to say, especially since none of them knew the exact extent of Rico's knowledge or how far his intelligence network reached.

 _"You're clever to be wary, Mustang, but do remember that despite our lacking military, our spy network is one of the most sought after,"_ the smirk on Rico's face was one Greed wanted to bash in.

 _"Yeah and don't forget your crime rates top all of the other countries too."_ Ed had piped in, referencing the rise of age old clans and the mafia gaining on power through the slums and the poorer districts of the country.

Rico seemed displeased at the mention but let it slip, his gaze drawn to Roy, " _We're sending a squadron to finish off Drachma's base just a little away from Fort Briggs, with them failing to respond and report back, Borya will undoubtedly think it an attack from Miss Armstrong,"_

Roy had taken a sip of his tea, discreetly throwing in three cubes of sugar to pledge mercy on his overly assaulted taste buds at the bitter taste, " _And in what way does this benefit **us**?"_

Rico had simply smirked, looking quite comfortable seated at his chair dressed in his usual regalia uniform, " _In many ways which time will tell. With that fool's attention shifted to you, we will be able to launch a surprise attack from the shadows,"_

Rico had stood up then, what was supposed to be a discussion with great detail and length turned into… _this._

The majority of their time took up the fact that Greed had be physically restrained to not lung at the smug prince, who relished in the various ways he could tease the soldier about sending love letters to his girlfriend and eventually courting her once Drachma swooped his ass.

" _After all, covertly operations are what Aerugo is best at,"_ the grin on his lips looked almost unnatural for his pretty boy visage, something so sinister and feral that looked like didn't belong on his handsome features, " _Don't you think?_ "

 _End of discussion_

Ed sighed, frustrated at his lack of deciphering skills when it came to the infuriating prince. He had his resources, he had the element of surprise on his side, for whatever purpose, so he knew he shouldn't underestimate him for what was yet to come.

Roy went over the barest minimum of their plans towards confronting Drachma and it seemed like Rico didn't go into too much detail either, after all, while they may have a secret peace treaty, they weren't what people would call 'a close-knit group of friends'. Keeping secrets even from their allies assured more safety for themselves, after all.

The conversation kept replaying in his mind and Roy instinctively fingered the king chess piece he stored in his pants pocket absently, remembering a cryptic lesson he had come to learn from Grumman when they had partaken in their usual chess matches before Roy had been deployed to the front lines.

He remembered the first time he had played on a chess board that had been different from their usual old ones, where the figurines on the board looked all the same, only distinguished by their colors, black and white.

Roy, only an experienced opponent in the old chess boards, had demanded to know why they should play on one of the newer versions.

Grumman had taught him a lesson Roy knew he wouldn't so easily forget. The pieces were neutral looking, shaped like the pawns, all of them with no sure way how to move them. Roy had lost of course, not knowing how to play and when he moved one piece forward, Grumman had stopped him.

 _"Caution Roy, you're moving your rook wrong,"_ wise old eyes had glanced at him with patience but a certain sternness he hadn't had the pleasure to see often.

" _Rook? How do I know what figure it is if they all look the same?"_ Roy had been frustrated and one hairs breath away from flipping the chess board.

" _Allies and enemies can all look the same, the enemy could be deceiving them with appearance alone."_ His eyes flashed behind the glasses, " _However, there is always a way to uncover what lies beneath by carefully looking for the position of the enemy and yourself,"_

 _"The position?"_ Roy hadn't had a sliver of what the old man could have possibly meant, deducing he might have been suffering from earlier stages of dementia.

And then he saw it. His figure, it was at its original spot on the board, Roy having yet to move any of the pieces yet from the row behind the "pawns". It was exactly on the spot where the rook usually was at.

He understood. And he moved it.

A sudden scrapping sound against the board had caught his attention as he lifted the figure to his face and turned it over, only to find a small, rolled up piece of paper within it. Grumman had only grinned devilishly, " _And sometimes, even an enemy may provide you with valuable information once and a while,"_

Roy shook his head, finger lazily running along the length of the king figure. Rico, by Bradley's terms, was still an enemy, or at least a person standing on shaky ground with Amestris. He had revealed information to them today.

He had revealed the surprise ambush on one of Drachma's smaller defense units stationed near Briggs, where they usually spied on Olivier and her troop from afar. Another ambush was scheduled in a fortnight, where Roy complied with supplying them with weapons should they need under the condition that they left no survivors to report back to Drachma of their allegiance.

The trek back to the base seemed long, due to the sluggish movements and heated discussions within their group, usually between Roy and Ed, or Ed and Greed. The three men couldn't seem to reach a consensus at all. Not to mention, nightfall and the storm steadily getting worse may have played a role.

"I didn't reveal any sensitive information about our future plans so why are you so stingy, Fullmetal?!" Roy's ire couldn't be more obvious, shaking his wet hair and glaring at his drenched gloves.

Ed's snort only further fueled the crackling fire between them, "You didn't have to tell him _anything_. We got what we came there for so why did we have to sit there eating dry biscuits and have tea and reveal our plans?!" he blew falling strands of hair away from his face, growling when they continued to fall back on his eyes.

Greed laughed, " _Ha!_ I _knew_ they tasted like shit!" he sent Roy a dry look, "Besides, the runt is right, Bradley is still on the throne and depending on if it's Rico's time of the month, he may change his mind and reveal our meetings,"

Roy sighed, burying his hands deep in his pockets as he walked over a protruding rock, "Whatever the case, Drachma is a common enemy, usually such circumstances are strong enough to win over any other urges to expose temporary truces or packs." He rubbed his chin, grimacing at the slight stubble he felt forming beneath his gloved fingertips, "If what Rico said was true, Drachma may not even know of their missing men at the border if the ambush is successful and Olivier can advance forward with her plan,"

"Her plan? What plan? Why didn't anyone tell me, _Mustang_?" the blond grit his teeth at his superior, who only rose an eyebrow unimpressively.

"Must have slipped my mind," his gait was faster even through the moist earth and if Ed didn't know any better, his stupid superior really _did_ actually forget to tell him anything.

"You son of a-" Ed stomped forward like a bull, " _Wait_ , so I can beat you up, Colonel Dumbass!"

Greed sighed, walking coolly forward while his two superiors bickered like kids, eyes trailing the lines of trees in disinterest. Rain drenched the better part of his clothes and his hair stuck to his head almost lifelessly.

He was sure he had seen movement from the corner of his eye, he was too suspicious to mistake it as a moving shadow of an animal or blame it as a trick of the light due to the storm.

The shadow had been much bigger than an animal but small in stature, either way it was a small soldier or even something else.

Feigning boredom, Greed neared the line of trees, whistling along the way as he scanned the thick forest for anymore movement.

A crunching of leaves to his right made him throw one of Hughes' kunai he had stolen from him straight in between two trees.

Listening carefully for a moment, Greed's gaze narrowed.

He didn't hear anything, but he also didn't hear the weapon hit the moist earth with a soft thud and squelching noise either.

Taking out his gun, Greed braced himself to step in between the trees before Roy's shout reached his ears, "Greed, come on, let's go!"

Muttering a curse under his breath, Greed shot the trees another suspicious look. He waited for several seconds, listening in for any sounds, before shrugging and strapping his gun back in it's holster at his hip, following after Edward and Roy in the distance.

* * *

He cursed him.

He cursed to him fucking hell and back.

He cursed any and all of his future children.

Stifling the barely suppressed cry of pain in his hands, Envy delicately inspected the injury on his foot.

Violently ripping the offending weapon out of his limb, Envy groaned loudly into his arm once he was sure the ragtag group was well out of earshot. Sighing and grabbing the small roll of gauze he kept in his back pocket, Envy carefully undid his boot and wiped away the small amount of blood that began pouring out of the small wound, the rain sloppily washing it away as he started wrapping it quickly and tightly to still the blood flow. At least the stupid rainstorm masked his scent if anything, while Greed had nothing on Gluttony's nose, the serum had enhanced many of their senses.

"Stupid Greed, stupid Lust, dragging me from Central just to follow my shitty brother." Cursing again under his breath when the pain shot up his foot at the pain, he limped away from the forest, nearly slipping on the mud caking his boots, "Stupid lazy Sloth, too big and too lazy to spy on people," he growled in annoyance, using his rifle as a makeshift walking stick to where the small helicopter was, obscured by thick, low hanging tree branches and leaves.

A slow grin stretched over Envy's lips, "Well, at least I got the job done," he cackled quietly, wincing at the pain in his foot, swearing Lust would be the one to do the dirty work next time.

* * *

"Care to elaborate what Armstrong said about a plan?" Ed rose an eyebrow, watching the General mumble something under his breath as he rubbed at the stinging redness in his cheek.

Ed absentmindedly rubbed at his own half assed injury, a half-hearted punch to the jaw, before listening when Roy started talking, "She didn't reveal much. Only to stay on our guard for the upcoming weeks, she says the group close to Briggs had been uneasy the last several days, ever since the ambush on us,"

Edward's face took on a pensive expression, "Anxiety over our next move?" he rubbed his chin.

Roy shook his head, "Or perhaps, they can't wait to execute their next one," his face hardened, the cold wind picking up.

They were only a little way away from their base, but Greed halted when a tingling sensation shot up his spine.

Ed and Roy stopped a few steps ahead of him, "What's the hold up now? First you glare at trees and now this?" Ed rounded on him but stopped at the oddly serious look on Greed's face.

"Do you smell that?" the Xingese man shot his two companions questioning looks as he sniffed the air again.

Roy scratched his nose, taking a deep whiff, "Not really…" he sniffed again, nose scrunching up, "Wait...something smells really bad," he looked at Ed.

The blond looked offended, "Don't look at me!" he growled, but nonetheless scented the air, "You're right…maybe it's just remnants of gunpowder and the earth in the rain?"

At the look on Greed's face, Ed knew it was something far worse, "It's a very familiar scent, but one that brings bad memories-"

After a few more steps, Greed froze dead in his tracks, body tingling and eyes wide in disbelief and horror.

Thunder boomed loudly, distantly in their ears and the following lightning showed what was previously hidden by darkness.

In the middle of trees, within the shallower part of the forest, hung figures.

Humans.

 _Dead_ humans.

Hanging lifelessly from the trees, wide, horror-stricken eyes trailed over their mutilated bodies to what was beneath them. Pools of blood formed beneath each corpse, on some innards could be found spilled messily and hanging partly from their stomach. Tightly wrapped ropes created blue marks on their necks, some of their eyes were rolled back into their heads, staring lifelessly at the storm above.

Ed quickly fled to a nearby bush, retching violently at the stronger stench of deceased flesh and split apart innards, stomach heaving heavily at the horrified images his mind unwillingly conjured. Hands desperately pressing against his stomach to quell the urge to vomit but it did nothing to calm him down. His whole body was shivering and his knees started to shake and feel wobbly after he nearly emptied out all the contents of his stomach. It hadn't been the first time he had seen dead people or hung people, but this… _they_ …were _comrades_.

"Mustang…" Greed's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, low, eyes transfixed to the grotesque sight before him, "What….what the hell is this?" thunder roared loudly in the distance, but the noise was tuned out to them.

It took Roy several minutes to respond, whether to recover from the shock of the scene or to collect his thoughts, Greed would never know, "I…" his eyes trailed over the partly terrified, partly impassive faces of the hung soldiers, "I don't know…"

He turned his head to watch Edward wiping his mouth, shakily standing up from his kneeling position by the bushes, he didn't step any further, the sleeve of his uniform covering his mouth and nose, eyes hard, "Who the fuck did this? Who are they?"

Bracing himself, Roy slowly approached a figure whose intestines weren't spilled all over the ground, eyes narrowing to inspect the bloodied and torn uniform.

Amestris.

Drawing back on shaky legs, Roy's voice caught in his throat, muscles working fervently to produce words, "O-Ours…." He covered his eyes, body shaking, teeth grit tightly together.

Ed's face fell, fists shaking at his sides violently.

Greed watched in stunned silence, feeling nauseas. The stench was unbearable, but he couldn't bring himself to look away.

Neither could Edward and when lightning shot through the darkened skies, it destroyed any restraint Edward had upon himself, "Fucking _hell_!" he sprinted forward in a frenzy, fist colliding with a tree. The tree shook but didn't fall, the deep fist-shaped indent left by Ed's hand noticeable even in the darkness and Greed watched with a mixture of sympathy and sorrow how his superior fell to his knees, fists slamming into the blood-soaked earth.

" _Why?!_ Why did they have to die?! Who the hell are you to decide upon a person's _life?!_ " his voice broke, "How cruel can that bastard be?!" Ed lifted his face from the earth, wide eyes taking in the faces of the hung men.

There was one soldier, Barry, thirty-seven years old, two sons and a loving wife back at home, he used to be a professional boxer a few years ago, until this war destroyed everything. He was sent to the frontlines. He had protected Edward on occasion, saying he reminded him of his eldest son, reckless with a tough exterior but softer heart. And Edward couldn't believe he let him down, he let him get _slaughtered_ like this.

The other one, whose innards littered the ground, was David. Fourty-two, his little daughter diagnosed at the age of seven with every person's worst nightmare: leukemia. He'd joined the military a few years after her death, with a hollow, empty look in his eyes, saying he had nothing left to live for so might as well die while fighting for his country. His time here had not only impacted his fellow soldier buddies, but Ed as well. Seeing a man who had lost everything, joining a war and wanting to die. He showed that even the most damaged people could begin to heal with the right people and David paid the price.

Leyla, throat slit savagely, and a portion of her right arm torn off, tendons and sinewy flesh hanging uselessly down. She was only twenty-three, a rookie, thrust into the harsh reality of war, fresh from the academy. Her months here on the front lines had shaken her to her core and Ed had been sure she would have at least tried to back out, but she hadn't. She had endured, despite her small stature and physical disadvantages and the grotesque sights. She studied medicine to become a field doctor under Al's watchful eye…or _had_ studied…

Roger, thirty-eight, former drug addict, had changed his whole way of living after his mother died from a burglary turned murder. Nobody wanted to employ a former drug addict with no formal education. So, he turned to the military. His addiction bettered, having been clean since three years, he had formed a strong bond with a woman over letters and had planned on proposing to her as soon as this war was done. Edward swallowed thickly, the bile rising in his throat.

He didn't even know whom to send the letter to.

Tiffany, twenty-nine, former art student with an unhealthy knack for messy colors, including the blood of her enemies as she killed them, was supposed to be sent back home after being diagnosed on one of her medicals of having Parkinson. He almost wished the illness would have taken her life, it would have been a more merciful death.

Steve, twenty-six. Military was all he knew and wanted to hear, no relationships, no personal connections, save but for Ling, who was – _had been_ – the only doctor allowed to treat him until now. _Until now._

Connor, thirty. Scheduled reassignment: two weeks.

Zack, Joshua, Neil, Patrick…

 _Everyone._

A bloodcurdling scream drowned out the noise from the storm and Greed's blood froze to ice in his veins as his friend retched over the ground, fingers digging deeply into the blood-soaked earth and in that moment, he never looked more human to him.

Edward Elric, dubbed "Fullmetal" on the field, known for his unique abilities in battle and high killing intent once angered, the same man that could kill a soldier without batting an eyelash, was now grieving in the most humanely way possible for fallen comrades.

No…

They didn't _fall_.

They had been _ambushed._

 _Slaughtered._

A sudden force slammed into his back and Greed's mind went to autopilot, hand gripping his gun and firing behind him, hearing no pained sound, he clasped his hands together to slam them down on the body behind him when his brother's yell rang loud in his ears, " _Fucking WAIT!"_

Freezing, Greed's body hit the moist ground, dirt covering both of the brothers and when Greed looked at him he noticed he was partly caked in blood, eyes alert and hands shaking, "Where the _fuck_ were you?!" he turned his furious gaze to Roy, who emptily stared at the corpses hanging from the trees then at Ed, who slowly staggered back to his feet, "We got attacked by Drachma, we needed your _help_ I thought you said you would be back an hour ago!" he grabbed the front of Greed's uniform and lifted him up to stare him in the eyes, furious black met unrelenting violet, "Some psychotic cannibal came and started _eating and chewing_ on our injured soldiers! He _ripped_ their arms off Greed! Do you have any idea who the hell that was?!" he shook his violently and Ling didn't notice he continued to until Greed's hand firmly planted upon his own so his world didn't spin anymore.

He couldn't find his voice and when he thought he did, it was croaked, "G-Gluttony…" his throat was dry, the rain pouring down on them doing nothing to still the sudden dryness at the name.

 _How did they find him?_

How did they know where they were? They had no base, Drachma shouldn't know of their whereabouts, they didn't even tell Rico where they were so how did-

The bushes.

Greed's head whipped toward the general direction where they had come from earlier, his eyes widened, "The bushes…it…I didn't imagine it,"

"Shit," Greed cursed and Ling got off him, not bothering to help his brother up when he staggered to his feet, still trying to process the information, "The bushes…earlier…that had been a spy, they _knew_ we were here, they _knew_ we weren't at the base!"

Mustang's posture was as stiff as a rod, muscles unmoving, eyes downcast and dead, "My men died…because of my incompetence,"

He was roughly shoved to a tree, bark digging harshly against his back as he was met by furious, molten gold, not violet as he had presumed, "Quit feelin' sorry for yourself you bastard! They're dead! We can't bring them back, but we _will_ bring back the ones responsible for this," Ed's knuckles turned white from the force which he was holding Roy to the tree, his other hand shaking at his side violently, "We can't lose focus now, this is war, it happens, we can't stop it but next time we need to…we…we need to plan better! We need to-" his mouth continued moving but he didn't form words, instead he roughly released his superior and turned to Ling.

"Are there anymore injured or…" he swallowed roughly, wiping the remainders of bile from his face.

Ling's shoulders slumped as if a great, invisible weight settled upon them, "No…a bullet hit Al, but it was only a graze on his arm, he's fine. The rest…those…they, they're alive," his eyes unwillingly moved toward the hung bodies, "…They split…Drachma planned for it and one group waited here to surprise them…" his fists clenched and Ed realized his nails dug so deeply in his palms, blood was dripping slowly from them, the rain washing it away, "I wasn't here soon enough,"

Gathering his wits about him and composing himself, Ed laid a heavy hand on Ling's shoulder, squeezing it, his own voice a quiet croak, "You did everything you could, Ling. Get cleaned up, make sure everyone is treated before we move, we can't stay here any longer," he nodded toward Greed and Roy, "Come on, we need to gather our things,"

Mechanically slowly, the men wearily moved across the blood-soaked earth, the darkened sky doing nothing to aid them navigate through the dark as they searched for their things and got ready for travel.

They were too paranoid to turn on the flashlights strapped to their hips, lingering soldiers may still be in the vicinity and spot their location if they weren't careful.

Roy assigned the remaining troops to protect their blind spots as they marched forward steadily, giving Ed a reprieve to gather himself. The tell-tale sound of cloth brushing against the ground sounded alarmingly loud in all of their ears, but they soldiered on, ignoring the wetness that steadily trickled down their faces as they pretended it was the rain.

The dead bodies, wrapped as securely as they could in their haste, dragged along with them on makeshift stretchers made from tightly strung cloth and thick branches from the trees, each soldier dragging behind a dead comrade.

The weight felt unnaturally heavy to Edward, this wasn't the first time he had to carry a dead comrade and he knew it wasn't the last, but something made it gut wrenchingly painful this time, so painful he could barely bear it.

Perhaps it had to do with the knowledge that, if they had been faster, none of this would have happened.

* * *

" _Ahhh…_ " Winry let herself fall back on her sofa, nearly spilling the glass of juice on her overalls as she sighed and rubbed at the stiff muscles in her neck, "Finally,"

Lena quirked a brow curiously, "Fell asleep on the chair again?" she shook her head, plucking a cookie from the bowl and crossing her legs, "I swear this is the fourth time Winry, one day you'll just wake up and crawl to work," Mei nodded approvingly, munching on a bar of chocolate as she sighed at the taste.

It's been too long.

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Not that it would be the first time," she smiled playfully when Lena snorted.

"Reckless," she muttered, shaking her head again.

Winry sighed, "So, how was work today?" she looked imploringly at all her friends and Riza was the first one to speak.

Her fingers absentmindedly rubbed across the smooth, warm porcelain of her mug, the warm steam from her hot chocolate warming her face, "Roy's paperwork came over today and I spent the better part of the afternoon filling them out," she took a tentative sip, licking her lips off the sweet liquid, "Bradley is off tomorrow in the afternoon, I was assigned to fill out his paperwork while he is away. I have full access to his office," her gaze shifted, lips drawn into a thin line.

"I still don't understand what you expect to find there, I don't really think he might have something to do with this. Why would he sabotage his own men?" Lan Fan stirred the tea in her hands, momentarily forgetting it to concentrate on her friend, "People need their king and a king is no king without his people. If Bradley really were to try and sabotage his own defense unit, he would stand with no men to support him should Drachma rise to the challenge,"

Riza shook her head softly, "No, of course not. I don't think he would do it openly, covertly and subtly would be beneficial to him. However, I still can't see what he gains from it," she sipped her chocolate quietly, staring into nothingness.

Lena played with her wiggling toes, tone dry, "Maybe he's getting bored and tries to cause some mischief on his chess board,"

Mei giggled, "You almost sound like General Grumman when you talk like that,"

Riza smirked softly, "Or Roy,"

Lena grinned, "Isn't that the same thing?" the women laughed and silence settled over them before Winry spoke next.

"Why don't we watch a movie and get our minds off work for a while, hmm? I need a break from it too and I'm sure you all more so than I do," she smiled and stood up, walking over towards her TV and eyeing her assortment of DVDs critically, "Rom-com, action or thrillers?"

"Action doesn't sound bad,"

"Action, please,"

"Rom-coms for life!"

"Count me in the thriller department, baby!"

Winry rolled her eyes, "Lena…you almost always choose thrillers," she selected a few DVDs and laid them out on the coffee table.

The woman grinned and eagerly scanned over the movies, "That's because I like solving mysteries and fighting the baddies, now who's up for some " _Silence of the Lambs"?_ "

Apprehension dawned on Mei, "Isn't that with the cannibalistic murderer who gets sent to prison and spends his time talking to a detective?"

Lena shrugged innocently, "…Maybe,"

"Alright, explain the plot badly," Winry knew Lena would be up to the challenge and she didn't disappoint.

"Lonely, obsessed female detective interviews mental old guy for his strange eating habits and the trauma behind them," she shrugged, "Ok, ok, not my best work, I confess," she held her hands up, earning giggles and laughter from her friends.

"Alright then, what about _'Stephen King's IT'?_ " Winry scanned the faces of her friends, all thoughtful.

"I heard it was a good movie," Riza nodded in approval, gaze meeting Mei and Lan Fan's.

The two Xingese girls contemplated the movie choice, "Isn't it about a scary clown that kidnaps children? Or so I've heard," Lan Fan blushed slightly at her poor description and Mei giggled.

Lena snickered, "More like: unpopular kids beat up a homeless, starving clown," she laughed and Riza smiled, chuckling herself.

Winry giggled behind her hand before concentrating on the task at hand, "Alright, any objections to watching a delusional horror clown kidnap kids and drag them into stinky sewers?" when none came, she grinned and popped the DVD in, "Thought so,"

"Where's the popcorn? We can't watch a movie without popcorn!" Lena grumbled from her perch nestled between Lan Fan and Mei.

Riza chuckled, "Well, she certainly has her priorities straight,"

Winry huffed, "Alright, pause the movie when it starts and I'll make some popcorn, little miss _Movie Nerd_ can come and help me," she pointedly looked at Lena, who muttered something about 'mean adults' before dragging herself behind her friend.

"Okay, I deserved that…I think," she shook her head, quickly searching through the cabinets to find popcorn.

Winry took out the butter, "Of course, if Greed isn't here to torment you who else would?"

There was a short pause and Winry tensed, fearing she may have ruined the joyous mood by mentioning her boyfriend deployed at the border, _stupid,_ before Lena laughed, "Ah, you're right. Bet Greed would be real happy once I tell him I found a substitute tormenter in his stead," she paused and Winry thought she finished speaking, until she added, quietly, "…until he comes back at least,"

Guilt spread within her like poison and Winry quickly hugged her friend, rubbing her back and shoulders, "I'm sorry I-"

Lena smiled reassuringly, "It's fine Win, I'm not mad don't worry," she chuckled, "Don't worry, not all soldier wives have a mental breakdown when you mention their husbands or boyfriend soldiers in front of them. I'm a tough cookie," she winked, earning a bob on the nose for that, "Hey!"

Winry rolled her eyes, "I guess, you are,"

Lena smiled, "So…" she grinned at what she was about to say next, evil shining brightly in her eyes, "…how's your soldier hunk doing?"

 _"_ _LENA!"_

It was good to be bad.

 **Again, I'm very sorry for the delay and the short chapter! Thank you all for your endless patience with me! :)**


	28. Lions Sin

**A/N: Hello-o-oh ladies and gents! :)** I hope you all are doing better than me (buried in homework and studies as I am), I finally found time to write up a quick chapter, hopefully it's not as boring as I think it turned out ^_^ I may have time to update next week on Friday, so stay tuned! :D

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Cutepanda12323:** Thanks so much! I'm really glad someone's commenting, reviews just really make my day! :) Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

 **JirachiAtSundown:** haha I think I already said everything through PM, but still let me thank you (so much) again for your help JAS! :D (virtual hug!) Hope this chapter ain't too bad this time ^^

 **Original Johnny Cash quote mentioned:** _Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight._

 **Enjoy!**

 **BTW:** The chapter title is a definite hint to what sin will be (very **briefly** ) introduced in this chapter. Now what is the majestic king of the beasts known most for? ;)

* * *

 **Lions Sin**

He didn't see the point of this anymore.

Why couldn't he talk to her normally? Why did his throat clog up and words failed him whenever the word 'war' or 'battle' were on the tip of his tongue?

 _Why did he push her away?_

Of course, he knew why. He was a soldier, she was a woman thankfully untouched by war, strife, endangerments to her life…

He couldn't befriend her and risk the possibility of exploiting her to any of it.

He was a _soldier_. A damn good one if he said so himself, he had more enemies than he remembered having good marks in school, which had been _a_ _lot_. If any of his enemies even suspected the source for his distractions could potentially be because of her, they would hunt her down no matter what. It didn't matter that they were all stationed here, he knew well enough that soldiers fighting on the front lines, most of them anyway, had enough external sources outside of the military and he knew they wouldn't hesitate using them.

He wasn't afraid to use his too.

With that, he made the call as he pressed dial.

After the fourth ring, the person on the other end finally picked up, "How is it?"

A grunt, _"Fine, don't get your panties in a twist. Your girlfriend is safe and dandy,"_ Edward rolled his eyes, resting a hand on his hip as he dug his heel into the earth.

"She is _not_ my-" he grit his teeth, nostrils flaring until the drawling voice stopped him.

" _Yeah, yeah, not your girlfriend, I know, I know. Don't bite my ears off Lieutenant General,"_ there was a tired yawn before he could hear shuffling, " _How's it on your end? Any trouble?"_

An image of the hanging corpses flashed through his mind and Ed reluctantly buried them down, "Several. Drachma killed most of our men, we are reassembling and Bradley's sending in for reinforcements." He bit his lip, fingers nervously fiddling within the confines of his jacket pocket, "Their attacks are getting more frequent and direct, but we plan to retaliate. You just keep me informed on the situation over there, alright?"

Another bored drawl, " _Yes, sir. As long as you keep sending in that delicious supply of whisky, I'll wake up every morning and the first thing on my mind will be your ever generous ass,"_ Edward sighed, fighting to keep down the small smirk from forming on his face.

"Moody as ever I see." He shifted his weight and switched his phone from one ear to the other, "Are all of you tech freaks like that?" he couldn't fight off the grin from forming on his face.

There was a disgruntled growl on the other side, " _Are all alchemists such noisy assholes?"_ the comment was laced with humor rather than any real bite and Ed laughed.

"That's _chemist_ noisy asshole to you, jerk," this time, he chuckled, "Thanks for the help, I know how risky it is," he wanted to sound sincere, he hoped he did.

It was one thing enjoying the protection of the military behind your back while working for your own men, but it was another thing entirely supporting a soldier as a private person and enjoying the protection of no facility or institution, not even diplomatic immunity.

" _Tch, right, right, don't get sappy on me, Elric. 'Sides, I owe you one for busting me out of that hacker scandal with Liore a while back,"_ he sounded slightly sheepish.

Ed smirked, "Thankfully, Rose is a forgiving soul, I wouldn't know how to get you out of that one if she hadn't agreed to go out with you while deleting all the evidence before the major found out," he shook his head, "By the way, how is she? Still tolerating you, Derek?"

Another snort, " _What is that supposed to mean you-"_

 _"_ _Hi Ed!"_ a new voice filled his ears and Ed smiled, face softening, " _Of course, I'm tolerating him otherwise we wouldn't be together. He can be a jerk sometimes, but he's got a big heart,"_ Edward suspected she either gave her boyfriend a quick kiss or pinched his cheek, both which would explain the embarrassed groan he could hear in the background.

 _"_ _Rose! Please not in front of my clients!"_ Ed had to stifle the urge to laugh, right, _'client'._

"Client, huh? That's what you call your friends, Riverdale?" he couldn't help the teasing, for all the careless front the tech obsessed genius put up, he was every bit as much as the shy and moody boy Ed had gone to college with.

 _"_ _Shut up, Elric! Do you want my help or not?!"_ he growled, no real bite behind it, " _Just because we were study buddies and food enthusiasts in college doesn't mean I'll all mushy with you,"_

Before he could retaliate with a retort of his own, he heard Rose again talking into the earpiece that belonged to Derek, " _Oh, ignore him Ed, you know how he can get. Are you watching yourself out there? How is it going with Winry?"_

His stance stiffened, fingers rising to tug nervously at the collar of his uniform as he swallowed, "Good, g-good, ya know I think I heard Colonel Smartass calling me, gotta hang up now, sorry Rose! Greet Derek from me!" he quickly hung up, not before hearing the giggle and bark of laughter coming from Rose and Derek respectively.

He ran a hand down his face in exasperation, groaning. _Great_. Now they would think he was some lovestruck fool.

Then again, it did sound a little suspicious asking a friend to spy, _watch over_ , a female friend who-was-only-an-acquaintance-turned-friend-turned-penfrend-turned-good-friend.

He groaned again, running a hand through his hair, "Relationship problems, Fullmetal?" the sneering voice of none other than his superior rang in his ears obnoxiously caused Ed to straighten as a board.

"I'm _not_ in a relationship, pyro freak!" he rounded on the smug dark-haired man, who stood with crossed arms and the smuggest look possible on a human being, "Put a sock in it!"

"How rude," Roy drawled, "I was sure the lovely young lady had gained your fancy, with you setting a spy on her and all," he enjoyed the disarmed look on Edward's face, who usually put a great deal of effort to conceal his feelings behind his soldier persona.

Edward cleared his throat, "It's not spying, it's called watching over a friend," he shuffled his feet and started walking toward one of the boxes in the middle of the barren space in the forest, burnt flecks of grass here and there from past bombs and grenades.

Roy followed, "Funny, I recall you have other friends and don't set people on them to _watch over them_ ," he rose an eyebrow in interest when Ed's shoulders shook in barely suppressed anger.

"…That's because two of them are martial experts and one of them even _teaches_ the deadly stuff, another one is proficient with any sort of weapon and has the nickname _Hawk's Eye_ for good reason and the other one is my brother's girlfriend and a little ticking time bomb with deadly use of throwing knives and medicinal poisons," he shuddered, thinking of how Mei's appearance really seemed misguided, considering her proficient use of her throwing knives, _kunai,_ from her home country and using her medical knowledge to her advantage to coat the damn things in poisons and paralysis liquids.

Roy chuckled, "Ah and Winry is a helpless damsel in distress?"

Ed shot him a dark look, "I didn't say that," he grumbled as he kneeled down to pry open the box, inspecting their supply of ammunition and counting the days they would still have it until reinforcements arrived, "I'm just a worried friend trying not let his new friend get killed,"

Roy's expression softened, "I doubt she can't defend herself, according to Riza, Lena teaches her self defense moves from time to time and I hear she's quite formidable with a wrench or any other tool in her garage." He allowed himself a chuckle, "Besides, with the people who are her friends, I highly doubt any and all attempts at her life would be successful," seeing the look on the youth's face, Roy quickly added, "Not that any attempts would be made anyway,"

He sometimes forgot how young Edward really was, what with his vast knowledge in and outside the battlefield, as well as his attitude in battle and position as an authority figure, little details like that can easily be forgotten.

Roy sighed, clearing his throat, "Why haven't you attempted to open up to her? I'm sure she's not the judgmental type," he sensed the confusion from is friend and subordinate, "Your calls only last as long as it takes Hughes to whip out his pictures and shove them into my face, which happens every three minutes," he crossed his arms, watching Ed shut the lid of the box closed and stand to his full height, "You realize shoving down your feelings isn't-"

When he turned, Roy's words died in his throat. He recognized the hard edge his gold eyes took.

Edward Elric was gone and Fullmetal was in his place, "How are the reports from Armstrong on the inspection of Drachma's base near Briggs?" his voice lacked any emotion, but commanded authority and Roy clenched his fists, knowing it to be a sort of defensive mechanism Edward used whenever he treaded on uncomfortable topics.

He cleared his throat and straightened his spine, "She's sending out Buccaneer to investigate," he observed the creased forehead and the lifted, fair eyebrow.

"Just him alone?"

Roy nodded, "Yes, she deemed it safe enough to trust he won't be overpowered." His gaze trailed sadly over Ed's hardened features, the soldier was back in full force and traces of the young man were gone.

"I see," Edward tightened his white gloves before looked up at Roy with a steady gaze, "If you'll excuse me, I need to check our other supplies,"

Roy didn't attempt to stop him, merely watched as he walked away, back straight, gait practiced and stiff that came with years of discipline from the military being drilled into him and head held high.

He sighed and turned on his heel, only to be intercepted by Hughes, "He blocked you out, huh?" his expression was one of concern as he looked after Edward.

Roy shrugged, "Yeah, no good talking to him when he's like this," he looked thoughtful for a moment, before raising his eyebrow suspiciously, "Were you eavesdropping?"

Hughes grinned sheepishly, "You can't eavesdrop in a forest Roy, there are no walls to hide behind," he winked.

"You insufferable git," he grinned and lightly hit his friend's arm, making Hughes chuckle.

"I learned from the best," he winked and chuckled when Roy mumbled something under his breath.

"Well?"

He looked at the former intelligence officer curiously, "Well, what?"

Hughes' grin stretched further, "What's the status?"

Roy sighed heavily, shoulders slumped, "He's having her spied on," when Hughes shot him a disturbed and confused look, Roy elaborated plainly, "For protection,"

Maes looked the epitome of giddy, "I see it's going well! That boy ought to open up more with her around, I hear from my lovely Gracia that she's a diligent hard worker and really cute! Maybe she'll soften him a bit," he sighed sadly, shaking his head.

"You know, sometimes I forget how young he is…he has all his life still ahead of him…" he shot his friend a sideways glance, "Alphonse talks about their childhood sometimes," he felt uncomfortable, talking about it without any of the brother's present, "Since their mother's death and their father's untimely departure, Edward was forced to grow up and raise Alphonse for the better part of it." He bit his lip, eyes sad, "I wonder…how much pressure such a young boy can endure," his gaze moved toward the darkening skies, "Along with this war,"

Hughes hummed thoughtfully, sharing the same train of thought, "He didn't crack under the pressure, but…I'm afraid he will, sooner rather than later,"

All Roy could do was nod in agreement as a shadowy figure dressed in white and a fedora watched them silently from the sidelines, tattooed hands disappearing inside well-tailored pockets.

* * *

Edward marched forward, inspecting four more boxes until he spotted his brother and Ling conversing quietly to the side.

He was significantly calmer now, alone with his thoughts. He knew his sometimes abrupt switches of attitude lead some people to believe he had a dual personality disorder, but it helped ward off nosy questions that hit a little too close to home and protect himself.

It helped that Fullmetal, the soldier, could be strong where Edward Elric could not. It helped that Fullmetal was a formidable opponent on the battlefield that should under no circumstances be crossed, whereas Edward Elric was the little genius with a big mouth and a nose in a book.

It helped that all that Fullmetal felt was anger, apathy and nothing else much. He didn't feel remorse, didn't let feelings override his common sense and cold logic.

Fullmetal was simply _better_ than Edward Elric.

And sometimes he felt like two people altogether.

Ed was the nice one. Fullmetal caused all the trouble. ( ** _A/N: Quote from Johnny Cash)_**

And they fought. Clashed more often than once. And at times, Edward didn't know who to listen to.

He knew, when it came to matters of the heart, that Elric was probably the better option to choose than his soldier persona.

But Fullmetal could shield off uncomfortable questions and make him not feel anything at all.

Feeling fatigue flooding his senses again, Edward turned his back to his brother and Ling, discreetly retrieving a small metal case and opening it quickly, popping a single pill into his mouth before swallowing roughly and shoving the metal box inside his jacket pocket.

He turned in time to be called by none other than Al, who waved him over.

His brother smiled at him but frowned when Ed got closer, eyes scanning carefully his brother's features, the eyes of a doctor, "Hey, are you okay brother? You look a little tired,"

Tired didn't even begin to explain how he felt, but he offered his concerned sibling a small smile instead, "I'm fine Al," he looked back and forth at Ling and him, "What did you guys talk about earlier?"

Ling shared a quick glance with his superior before speaking, "About that soldier I met at the border,"

Ed's mind quickly rushed through the memories and bits of information, it took him several long moments to remember, "Ah, Lieutenant… Vega, right?" his gaze narrowed, "What about him?"

Ling's lips drew into a thin line, "I lost him," Ed rose an eyebrow and Ling cleared his throat, "I planted a tracking device on him before he left but now I can't catch his signal, seems like he found it," the Xingese soldier sighed.

Ed frowned, "Why did you plant it on him anyway?"

It was Ling's turn to raise an eyebrow suspiciously, "Silly Ed, I told you about it when I got back. I suspected he was the one to plant those land mines or at least, that he was suspicious for carrying a potentially deadly medical equipment with him with no experience in the medical field," this time, he scanned Edward from head to toe, "Are you alright? You really do seem tired,"

Al's eyes softened in concern, "Brother…when has been the last time you slept?"

Ed's eyes widened, fist clenched at his side as he tried not to sweat, "Last night, why?"

Alphonse's gaze narrowed, "I asked Greed if he switched places with you for night duty and he said you shooed him off," he frowned, "Have you slept at all?"

Edward growled, "Drachma could attack us any time Al. Besides, it was only one night, I'll be fine once I sleep today," without further ado, he walked away from the pair of medics and Al noted the slightly slower pace. If one didn't spend as much time with Edward as he, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.

His eyes shot towards Ling, "What do you think?"

Ling shook his head, "He hasn't slept for at least 39 hours, that much I know," he crossed his arms, "Provigil?" Al's eyes narrowed in thought, going over his brother's symptoms to see if it matched with the drug.

Provigil was a well-known medication that promoted wakefulness during disturbing sleep patterns. It altered the natural chemicals, the neurotransmitters, in the brain and helped keep the consumer awake.

Many soldiers use drugs, whether to sleep more or stay awake. Some were terrified of falling asleep, not being able to bear the images of war and bloodshed that assaulted their minds during sleep. Others used drugs to stay awake, paranoid of nightly ambushes and high strung about dangers lurking at every corner and not ready to confront their nightmares.

"His eyes are red, he blinked a bit too often and he had trouble focusing and remembering the info you told him a few days ago." His gaze hardened, "I thought brother wouldn't resort to this," he sighed, "What do you think?"

Ling released a long, drawn out sigh, "I know from experience that Provigil is useful for staying awake on the odd shift here and there," he frowned in concern, "But sleep deprivation for over 40 hours can do quite a bit of damage to the body and mind." He searched around in his medical pouch, "I can give him something if you-"

Al held his hand out to stop his friend, "No, it would do no good if he mixed medications. Let the effects wear off and I'll have Greed knock him out at night so he can sleep," he shrugged at Ling's amused look, "You know as well as I do that a good knockout works wonders for a good rest,"

Ling laughed as he placed a hand on Al's shoulder, "With a brother like Greed, that's as true as anything,"

* * *

Riza smiled as politely as she could when Bradley regarded her posture in his office and the rather large stack of paperwork piled on his desk, "Are you sure you're alright with this arrangement?" his one visible eye slanted slightly in concern, "It is my duty as Führer to see to my duties, including paperwork, I would feel horrible to impair your future performance due to my own doing,"

Riza shook her head lightly, smiling, "I insist, sir. After all, I've done my share of paperwork and I have time to spare before my lessons,"

Bradley smiled, deep lines appearing on his aging face, "Thank you Lieut. General, I'll be sure to repay you in the near future," he tilted his hat to her and curled his hand around the door knob, "I bid you a good day," after she bid him farewell, she calmly walked toward his desk and began about going through his paperwork.

Fifteen minutes passed until she dared to stop, eyes slowly scanning the sliver of spaces left between the blinds to see if there were any moving figures outside of the office. Once she deemed it safe enough, she quickly moved to open the first drawer of his desk.

Much to her displeasure, it was locked.

Riza frowned, fingers deftly searching underneath the desk and sure enough after a bit of probing, she felt a small out of place ridge and gentle felt for cold metal, a small hole in the wood allowed her finger to touch the metal and slowly slide it out of the metal-like socket.

The key was small and fit right into the lock on the drawer.

She wasn't expecting to find what greeted her in there.

Messily drawn children's scrawls greeted her in a variety of colors and shapes and Riza's expression softened briefly before she discreetly lifted one end of the paper pile, finding only more underneath.

Did this man keep a drawer, a _locked_ one, filled with his son's drawings? Riza felt warmth in her chest but her eyes narrowed.

Bradley was known to be usually cheerful and jovial, very approachable and a family man, perhaps he didn't talk about his family as excessively as Maes, but nobody doubted his affections for them. She quietly closed the drawer and locked it, fingers reaching for the second one beneath just as the door opened.

Heart lurching to her stomach abruptly, she quickly schooled her expression into the neutral, calm one she usually adopted as she discreetly placed her hands in her lap, pretending to be reading one of the papers in front of her.

It was Bradley, looking quite sheepish, "Apologies Lieutenant General, have I startled you?" years and years of war and working with people made her pick up on the very brief, very subtle changes in his face.

His eyes had narrowed for a fraction of a second, before his face relaxed into the usual friendly one around his subordinates as he looked at her expectantly, she smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry, sir, I've just been going through the other documents,"

His gaze trailed over his desk briefly, before his eyes fell on his desk lamp, which was dangerously close to the drawer Riza had just plundered.

His gait was steady as he approached his desk and Riza forced her muscles not to stiffen, knowing the man was years ahead of her concerning experience and would easily be able to discern a change in her posture, however subtle she tried to make it.

Tension in the room threatened to choke her as she watched him reach a hand out, obviously searching for something. Her heart beat sped up when he was dangerously close to reaching for his drawer, before he shook his head and snatched a small box from beside the lamp, "I've forgotten my wife's pastries, old age seems to be catching up to me," he laughed heartily, gingerly pocketing the small decorative box in his coat.

Riza offered an amused chuckle, smiling, "Quite the contrary sir, Borya wouldn't be getting as defensive as he is if that were the case," she nodded.

Bradley laughed, gaze moving over to the map filled with colorful pins, "I suppose, though I doubt it's any easier for that old crook," he grinned, raising a hand to wave at the blonde woman, "Thank you again Lieutenant General, I'll be seeing you tomorrow,"

Riza smiled and waved back, daring to move when she could no longer hear his footsteps after he shut the door quietly with a click.

Rubbing her throat, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

If she hadn't seen, on rare enough occasions, her superiors more serious and foreboding side, she would have begun to think a man as cheerful and silly as him didn't belong in the military.

But that was his strategy, at least she liked to think so.

Deceiving people into a fake sense of security by his friendly nature only to reveal his true side when the time was right.

She remembered Madam Christmas showing her the elite soldiers, Lust, Envy, Sloth…all under direct command from Bradley.

She wondered why the higher ups didn't notice this, as with every member of such institutions, regular check ups were done to minimize the possibility of a mutiny or covert operations done against the countries favor. If the information she had gathered of those soldiers were true, she couldn't believe their intentions for Amestris nor for them were good.

Quickly concentrating on the task at hand, Riza tried to slip the small key in the second drawer, finding it not to fit.

She rose an eyebrow staring at the key in her hand, trying and trying again to unlock the drawer without any success. She stood up, slipping the key back into it's original hiding place underneath the desk and searched nearly every nook and cranny of his office, finding no other small enough key to fit.

Finally giving up her search, the sharpshooter leaned against the desk and sighed, running over her neck and collarbone thoughtfully.

 _What could he be hiding?_

Now, it wasn't uncommon, especially for people of such position, to put safety measures concerning their workplace as well private homes. She had failed to account for the possibility of him having a different key for every drawer, which made her search impossible to continue.

Perhaps he was carrying it on his person? Concealed at home?

Riza sighed, returning to quickly finish the mountain of paperwork before calling Sheska to deliver a message to Roy.

But then something stopped her right in the middle of signing her name on a letter from General Grumman.

She quickly fished out the key underneath the desk and opened the first drawer, drawings of Selim facing her again.

This time, she took her time in looking at each picture and her suspicions began to skyrocket.

Some of them were too precise, too clean for a very young boy to draw. Some lines seemed almost practiced, other ones were made deliberately smoother in contrast to the haphazard of other ones.

Her brows drew in in concentration, mind swimming with ideas, one more confusing than the next.

Could it be that Bradley was forging the drawings? Drawing them deliberately messily himself?

She shook her head, _"Now you're being unreasonable, why would the man do that and find the time? For what purpose?"_ her lips smoothed into a thin line as she scanned the drawings again, " _A trap? A trick? Unless he anticipated my snooping around, there was no reason for him to do this,"_ she ground her teeth, " _But not even if he did suspect something, what reason would he have?"_

Decoys were usually meant to distract from exploiting the real target, but what could these pictures hide? She went through them again, finding even more at the bottom of the drawer, no hidden compartments, nothing.

She couldn't make sense of why a country leader would keep a drawer full of his child's drawings under lock and key like this.

With a disappointed sigh, Riza placed the drawings back into their original positions, rearranging them from memory how she found them.

Just before she closed the drawer shut, the top drawing of the pile caught her eye one last time before she locked it.

It was a drawing of Selim and his parents, smiling and standing near a big building, probably their house.

She swore there was something black resembling Selim's shadow beneath the child's drawn feet, whereas his parents had none.

* * *

There was the loud sound of the heavy doors shutting closed as Mrs. Bradley came to see whom her butler allowed entrance.

Her heart filled with joy when she saw her husband, dressed in his usual uniform.

As he placed his hat and overcoat on the coat rack, he almost stumbled slightly at the force of his wife's hug as she pulled him close, eyes softening at the elated expression on her face, "What a surprise! I didn't know you were coming home early," she smiled up at him and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Wrapping one arm around the small of her back and gesturing toward the living room with the other, the Führer smiled down at his wife and tenderly kissed her forehead, "Mrs. Mustang was so kind as to take my shift and fill in my paperwork for me," he smiled but released a noise of surprise and pain when his wife suddenly slapped the back of his head.

His wife sported a cross look, hands resting on her hips, "How could you let that poor woman work any more than she already does?! Go back to your office and allow her a free week, she works more than anyone I've heard before," Mrs. Bradley was a force to be reckoned with, especially if her seldom invoked wrath was directed at her husband.

The Führer rubbed at the back of his neck, before sighing, "Calm down dear, she reassured me it would be fine. I promised to repay her once she finishes my shift," he eyed her with his one visible eye, part amusement, part irritation, "You still have a mean slap, just like on our first encounter," he grinned cheekily.

She huffed, before taking his arm and leading him toward the living room, "Oh shush you! You're still the insufferable oaf you've been then," she giggled, patting his arm as they walked.

He placed a hand at her back and gently pushed her toward the living room, "I'll be right back my dear, let me just get Selim," she smiled and nodded, and he moved in the opposite direction, toward his office.

He opened the door to his private study and a smile curled his lips at the low voice that greeted him, "Did you succeed?"

Bradley gave a smile, "Yes, it seems like even the most perceptive people fail to notice the most obvious things," he chuckled, eyeing the back of his chair, "Playing again, _Selim_?"

The chair swiveled around, revealing his son, a dark look about his childish face, "Hm…" he rose an eyebrow, "Has she searched your things?" Bradley nodded.

"I suspect she has, it's a shame we couldn't give her a clue,"

Selim smirked, "Father ought to allow us more leeway," he released a soft chuckle, "…Has the Elric brat figured anything out? What about Greed? After Envy's last stunt, things should be escalating by now,"

Bradley shook his head, "Mustang has requested more assistance, nothing else. They sent the fallen to be given a proper burial," he paused, as if reminiscing, "Greed hasn't made a move yet, but the more we get involved, the more his resolve will crumble." He suddenly laughed, "Edward Elric is sure amusing, don't you think? All that studying of chemistry and alchemy and unable to decipher the symbol and its meaning,"

Selim licked his lips, if Bradley hadn't already been so accustomed to seeing this side of his son, he would have shivered in fear, "I suppose a more direct approach is in order,"

And then, with the study only being illuminated by a soft orange glow from the lamp, the play of shadows created distorted shapes all around Selim, a wicked grin curling his lips. Bradley smiled, "Always one for dramatics," he watched the bloodthirsty look in his eyes, " _Pride_ ,"

He jumped off the chair and the shadows were gone, revealing the innocent, childish face of Selim Bradley once more. Just before the father-son pair exited the study, Pride whispered, "Send Gluttony in,"

 **Phew, a lot happening, huh? Finally the plot's continuing and we'll get to see Gluttony in action next chapter! What may happen then? Stay tuned! :)**


	29. Lascivious Appetite

**Lascivious Appetite**

 _"_ _Lust,"_ the disturbance in her ear made her internally flinch, but her face remained neutral and her stance calm as she brought her hand to her ear and adjust the signal.

"Yes?" feminine tones laced with a naturally seductive hum traveled to the earpiece from her ruby red lips.

" _Prepare everything for Gluttony, I trust you know what MO to follow,"_ her superior's voice had a hard edge to it, no doubt caused by either Envy's annoying presence or the current progress with the war.

Nonetheless, her lips curled in a smile, "Of course, sir," with that the line went dead and Lust returned to making markings on the map.

She mentally counted in her head, " _The position is crucial. If I miscount even a millimeter…"_ brows furrowed and back taut, she drew the lines, " _The first was…here. Then the second, there. Third was located over here while the fourth one was there."_ She smirked as she drew the final line, connecting all the dots, " _And finally, the fifth one,"_

Surrounding the city center was the shape of a pentagon, connected by the location of all five laboratories.

Lust smiled, retrieving her communication device from her pocket and speaking into it once the line cleared, "Head over to Number 5, make sure you are not seen,"

She waited for several seconds, before an affirmative grunt was her response, and at last the obnoxious voice of her brother, " _Why do I have to go?! Look, I'm in the middle of spying on Greed's wench Lusty, so I can do that later,"_

Lust's frown deepened, and her nails dug into the device, "Listen well Envy, time is of essence, we need to check the perimeter surrounding 5 until we can continue our other operations," a bloodthirsty smile stretched her pretty smiles, "You wouldn't want your little mission being interrupted again, would you?"

She sensed his compliance before he uttered the words, " _Fine_ ," with that the line went dead.

Lust smiled and slipped the device securely into the holster at her hip, swiftly pinning the small short blade into the center of the pentagon she drew.

It was all going according to plan.

With careful steps, Lust stepped out of the tent, nodding in greeting at several passing by soldiers, her target the larger tent off to the side, well away from the rest of the soldier's tents.

She pushed aside the tent flaps, meeting a steel door. She produced the keys from the inside of her pocket and slowly unlocked it, the steel door cringing slightly in protest after so long of not being opened.

Absolute darkness greeted her only broken by three rays of light peeking through the small window sealed with steel bars, illuminating a single spot of the ground.

Two small red dots appeared in the middle of the darkness and she smiled, "I have good news,"

Despite the demonic appearance of the red dots, the disembodied voice that spoke from within the darkness sounded almost childish, "…News?"

She reached behind her back bringing forth a dirty wrapped rag. The dirt on the rag was dried blood, perhaps days old and she tossed it into the darkness, where the unmistakable sounds of slobber, chewing and teeth meeting small bones could be heard, "Yes, it's time Gluttony,"

The voice sounded again, sounding a bit more cheerful, "Time to eat, Lust?" it sounded hopeful.

Lust smiled, almost motherly in nature, "Yes, Gluttony, time to eat,"

Something moved within the shadows and the small slivers of light showed a large foot shuffling forward, encased in thick dark leather, before an obscenely rounded torso covered by the same fabric broke through the darkness.

"Hungry Lust…so hungry…" whined the childishly voice helplessly.

She smiled and stepped aside, making room for him to exit his space, "I know," her eyes softened for the briefest of moments before her tone changed.

A sharp command which demanded authority, "Leave the candidates alive, the others…" the same bloodthirsty smirk twisted her lips, "…you can enjoy devouring as you like,"

An unnaturally thick tongue traced equally wide and thick lips, small beady eyes of an extremely pale blue color they almost seemed white zeroed in on the forest surrounding their camp eagerly.

Gluttony stuck his tongue out in anticipation for his upcoming battle, the symbol tattooed on his tongue seemed bright in the daylight.

It was the same symbol Sloth had: of a dragon eating its own tail.

* * *

"You've come to visit again, how nice," Madam Christmas waved one of her girls over who set Riza's drink in front of her, a glass of water.

The military woman smiled and nodded her thanks, "Unfortunately, it's not much of a social call," she smiled apologetically at her aunt-in-law, wishing the two women could meet as often as they did under different circumstances.

Madam Christmas waved her off, "Nonsense, seeing you even on business is good enough. I gotta teach that brat some manners when he returns," she rolled her eyes, putting out her cigarette.

Riza smiled.

"Got any leads?" at the Madam's question, Riza frowned.

"My previous hunch seemed false…but I wonder if it really was what it seemed," at the dark, raised eyebrow, she elaborated, "Would a man in a high position keep a drawer locked full of his child's drawings?" Riza asked herself that as well, she knew she would never do such a thing.

The Mustang matriarch rubbed her chin, "Not if he's got an encrypted code locked within those drawings deary." She chuckled, "He doesn't seem a stupid man to me, a jokester and a charmer but not stupid. Never underestimate the sinister quality of a smile," she laughed.

Riza's gaze hardened, "We know he…is involved in some questionable operations himself, one would be leading those soldiers. We still have Drachma to worry about, what could possibly be his hidden agenda?" her fingers traced the cool exterior of her glass absentmindedly.

The burly woman shrugged, "The military was always full of layers and even more mysteries surrounding them." She leaned forward on her elbow, a shadow passing over her face, "I would be careful if I were you deary, the walls have ears, even mine," she discreetly looked around, "It's safer talking here than anywhere else, but after what happened last time…" her gaze narrowed, "I'm not so sure anymore,"

Riza's lips formed into a thin line, "You still have no idea who that might have been?"

The woman shook her head grimly, "None at all. The uniform could've very well been stolen, thinking it may be one of them just may very well be the culprit's intention. But…" she gnawed on her bottom lip, "I can't shrug the suspicion that it may be an inside job,"

Riza lifted a brow, "An inside job?"

Christine Mustang nodded and discreetly pulled a thin, rolled piece of paper into Riza's hand, it looked like a cigarette at first glance, until Riza unrolled it beneath the protection of the ashtray.

It was a code.

Written in Grumman's handwriting.

 _Seven rooms. Two of them got torn down. One got locked and abandoned. Only four rooms were available for living. How many rooms remained?_

Confusion washed over the military woman like a tidal wave, she looked at her aunt-in-law for any clues, but the woman remained tight lipped.

" _Odd…Grandfather rarely resorted to riddles, perhaps it's too valuable information to be delivered differently,"_ lightning a match, Riza watched the flame devour the piece of paper as it fell in the ashtray.

"Well?" Riza's thoughts were interrupted by the elder woman before her, "Does it make sense what that old crook wrote?" she grinned.

Riza smiled and shook her head, "If it would it wouldn't be any fun encoding it now would it?" Riza slipped a bill over the counter, ignoring the hard line of Christine's mouth, "I'll be sure to visit, hopefully with better news,"

Despite assuring the soldier that payment was never needed, Riza still payed for the drinks she ordered, even if it was cheap water.

With a disapproving shake of her head, Madam Christmas pocketed the money in her pocket, "I get the feeling our impost won't remain a mystery for long,"

From the crooked grin the woman gave, Riza suspected she may have a lead or at least be on to something, but one could never quite tell with her.

Making sure to keep her expression as relaxed as possible, Riza bid farewell to the woman and exited the bar.

Madam Christmas chewed on one end of her cigarette, tossing the burnt stick on the ashtray with a flick of her tongue, "If there's one thing I hate it's posers," she clicked her tongue irritably.

* * *

On her way home, once she was certain nobody was in her vicinity, Riza allowed her expression to relax into a scowl as she pondered over the coded message.

 _What could the rooms stand for? Military bases? Operations? Camps?_

There were too many questions to even begin trying to encode it. Perhaps the blunt, direct way would work with getting information from her grandfather, however such a feat alone was like pulling teeth from a rhino.

In connection to Madam Christmas' words, the message must have something to do with the impostor or the suspicion of the actions against them being an inside job.

If they had a rat among their units…would solving the riddle lead them directly to the culprit or toward Bradley's hidden agenda? Riza couldn't shake the sneaking suspicions that the rooms referred to something else, not camps nor military bases, but something definitely sharing connections with it.

There had been seven rooms at the beginning.

Two got torn down, that meant five remained.

One room got locked shut, unusable.

Four remained.

Four rooms provided for living.

Had it something to do with the positions of the higher ups? Of the sins they've discovered?

She mentally counted in her head, " _Lust, Sloth, Envy, Greed…"_ she froze before she could cross the street to her apartment, " _Four sins…four rooms…were they connected? Why was the fifth room locked? Was one of those sins locked up somewhere? Did it refer to Sloth's brief imprisonment at the border?"_ Riza shook her head, " _No…that wouldn't make any sense,"_

Continuing her walk, Riza held her head high and mulled over her thoughts.

Five rooms. One locked, four usable.

She had no idea.

* * *

Heavy, uneasy footsteps waddled through the moist ground, the smell of the earth after the rain filling his sharp senses.

Gluttony made a short jump over a fallen log, the rifles on his back and chest bouncing from the action.

He grinned widely when his nose picked up a scent in the air, gunpowder and sweat.

And blood.

Feeling his blood begin to boil in a achingly familiar way, Gluttony made his movements more muffled, taking great care to step on grass than bare ground.

He was nearing what had been an active battlefield or still was, either way he was hungry.

Lust said he could eat everyone but the candidates.

He was going to have a field day.

Eat _._

Eat.

 _Eat!_

Sneaking forth from the bushes, his beady pale eyes zeroed in on the corpses of the fallen soldiers on the ground.

He paid the uniform no mind, all he registered was his meal.

Leaning down toward one fallen soldier, Gluttony raised the woman's arm up to his lips, licking them in anticipation.

The flesh of females in particular always interested him more than the hard, tough flesh of men.

Men had twenty-five percent more muscle mass than women, adding harsh training, the muscle tissue was hard and sinewy, difficult to chew and even more to digest.

Women's flesh was softer, the tissue was softer, mostly, and easier on his digestive system.

In some part of his still intact conscious, Gluttony realized his eating habits weren't normal, at least not meeting society's standards.

But Lust said it was alright.

Opening his mouth wide, his teeth sunk into the woman's exposed arm, dried blood marring the pale, cold flesh.

He put more pressure on his jaw, teeth sinking further into her arm until they finally broke skin.

Droplets of blood spilled from his mouth in small red streams, like a thin trickling river until he shattered her bone with a crushing lock of his jaw.

The severed lower half of the woman's arm hung from his mouth, eerily looking like a dog carrying a bone in it's maw, until Gluttony began to chew. He grabbed the wrist of the arm tightly and used his teeth to separate the flesh from the bone.

Devouring his victims was always a draining task, cooked meals were always easier, but often enough, Gluttony couldn't enjoy the privileges of a cooked meal.

Wincing when his back teeth hit the bone but were unable to shatter it, Gluttony spat out the limb, "Too hard," he sobbed, reaching for the rest of the woman's arm and chewing and biting on the rest of her.

"H-Hey!" a trembling voice interrupted his meal.

Gluttony slowly turned, beady eyes blinking slowly when his gaze landed on a trembling soldier on the ground, rifle in one hand.

Gluttony's senses went on overload at the smell of fresh blood, the blood coming from the still-alive man, whose knee was messily wrapped in a bandage consisting of his torn uniform, "W-what are you doing to her?"

Always the questions.

Gluttony didn't bother wiping his mouth, after all, he wasn't finished with his meal.

He always liked them best warm.

He would be warm, he was still alive.

Roughly throwing the carcass of mauled flesh aside, Gluttony stood wobbly on his feet, advancing toward the man with his thumb stuck in his mouth.

The man's eyes widened at the sight of Gluttony's bloody mouth and hands, "W-what the-?!" realization dawned on the soldier and he shakily lifted his rifle in self-defense, the weapon trembling terribly in his grip, "Y-you monster! C-C-cannibal! I didn't know you guys still existed!"

He tried shooting Gluttony, but he narrowly kept missing, his good arm shaking terribly from the scene he had witnessed.

"M-monster! Animal! H-how can-a human, she's a human just like you!" he scrambled back, crying out in pain when his knee gave out and more blood gushed forth from the wound.

Gluttony licked his lips.

"…Eat," he extended his chubby arms, a big, sinister grin on his lips, his giggles almost childish.

The man sweated profusely, hands fumbling with his reloading his weapon.

He was shaking too hard, he couldn't _reload._ Releasing a short bark of anger, the man grabbed the butt of his rifle and instead of shooting, swung it haphazardly around him in erratic arcs and circles, "S-stay away from me!" he felt nauseas, cold all over, his whole body trembling.

The soldier knew it wasn't only from the blood loss, from lying on the cold hard ground, it was because of the man- no the _beast_.

Screaming and shaking, the man fought for his life.

The weapon hit Gluttony's round stomach and the flesh jiggled, creating ripples along his flesh.

He blinked.

The man screamed when Gluttony advanced upon him.

Savagely, Gluttony's bit through the man's jugular, blood spurting from the injury like a fountain, but Gluttony didn't mind.

He was a messy eater.

The man's arms flailed wildly about him, eyes wide and uncomprehending in terror.

 _He was being eaten alive._

Gluttony's massive hands held him down, teeth tearing at the torn flesh of the man's neck, tendons ripping, blood spurting.

" _Gaarghhck-"_ the man spluttered, blood spilling in rivulets from his open lips, a faraway look in his eyes as he grew dazed from the pain and shock, body trembling as Gluttony continued feasting upon him, until finally, he stilled.

Gluttony growled, blood filling his mouth as he chewed on the man's collarbone.

"Eat….eat…eat…" his hands tightened their grip around the man's ribcage, the bones sinking beneath his inhumanly strength as the torso deflated in a boneless heap.

* * *

"Are you sure sending the glutton off by himself was a good idea?" Envy pouted, crossing his arms as his older sister scoffed softly.

"Gluttony can handle himself," she waved at him dismissively.

Envy frowned, "He has the mindset of a child, Lust. That fool is going to get killed sooner if food is all he has on his mind, like usual," he growled, kicking a pebble with his boot.

Lust smiled, "It's alright, once Gluttony eats a bit, his focus returns," the cruel smirk twisted her pretty features again, her voice velvety soft as she spoke lowly, "Let's hope he hasn't lost his appetite when he encounters the group,"

Envy cringed, not wanting to envision the blood bath Gluttony was sure to create once he reached their enemies' base.

* * *

Derek sighed for what had to be the umpteenth time that day, "I ain't getting' paid enough for this," he mumbled under his breath, thoroughly annoyed.

The mechanic had spent the last hour stuck in an old pawn shop, trinkets odds and ends, that sort of thing.

He couldn't believe how someone could get swayed so much by the sight of automail.

He rubbed his sore neck, "Hell…I need to squeeze out more out of the blonde…" he hissed at the sore spot behind his neck, rubbing at it clumsily with two fingers, trying to remember how Rose always did it.

A dreamy expression crossed his face when he thought of his beloved girlfriend.

Well…if he _hadn't_ been involved in some dubious affairs with the church in the past, he wasn't sure he would have even met Rose, not to mention the infuriating man who had adopted her after her parents had died in the aftermath of Ishval.

Oh, how he _loved_ the smell of her hair whenever they watched movies and cuddled on the couch…

Derek abruptly jumped when he realized the blonde head behind the window pane was no longer visible.

Quickly springing up from his sitting position at the small coffee table, he carelessly threw some change at the bewildered shop owner before racing down the street.

 _How the hell did he miss her exiting the shop?! Ed was going to kill him!_

Looking in every direction, Derek quickly pulled out his phone and opened several apps.

A few windows appeared, all camera views of the street in different angles, Winry's shop, Garfiel's shop and her friend's houses-

 _Oh!_

 _There!_

Grinning from ear to ear, Derek quickly jogged forward, making a right turn into the street a certain bastard's girlfriend lived in.

She just _had_ to go to Lena's house.

He didn't know the woman personally, not exactly, but he sure knew her boyfriend.

Greed had been his source of entertainment when smart kid Elric got boring, the two sometimes went on random hunting sprees at local bars in search of a lady or two.

Unfortunately, it all stopped when the asshole met that woman.

Consequently, it all stopped for him too when he met Rose, so he guessed Greed wasn't _too_ much of an asshole.

Shaking his head, Derek slowed to a normal walk when he recognized Winry's figure several hundred meters in front.

 _Finally!_

He couldn't _wait_ for that expensive alcohol and the new "tech stuff", as Ed called it, to arrive on payday. He counted his lucky stars for having a side job _and_ Ed's generous payments.

Sometimes, playing the creepy stalker wasn't so bad.

Until it suddenly backfired.

Like _now_.

"Why are you following me?"

He hadn't even realized he had sped up his pace and was now being stared at by none other than the Rockbell girl herself.

 _Shit_.

 _Play it cool, Derek, play it cool, play it-_

 _"_ _Meeeeee gurrra! Coma na?"_ Derek grinned broadly, raising a hand in greeting.

Winry's eyebrows shot to her hairline, " _Aiiiii, jajajaa, merooa…e…emia bora bora!"_ Derek chuckled, broad smile plastered painfully on his face. He wildly pointed to his right, at a small intersecting street, " _Oi….aaa…yumi yumi?"_

He was _fucked_ if his acting skills didn't save his sorry ass right no-

Winry's eyes lighted up in realization when she realized what Derek tried to tell her, "Ohh, you want to uh, eat?" she made hand motions of holding a fork and eating from it.

Awkwardly, Derek nodded rapidly, wicked smile still plastered on his face.

He hadn't noticed the dangerously large wrench that was peeking out of her bag, but now that he was aware of it, his actions grew even more hasty, " _Aaaahhaaaaaa, thank yu!"_ he shouted at her in heavily accented Amestrian, quickly speeding down the street where he spotted a small restaurant.

He mentally praised himself for remembering it, it saved his life.

He quickly entered it, then stepped outside after several minutes, eyes stuck to his phone as the tracking device he once planted on Winry was moving again, signaling she was on the move.

With a relieved sigh, Derek left the restaurant and sighed, running a hand down his face.

"….I should seriously demand more," he groaned, trailing after the blinking red dot.

* * *

"Brother, I really think you should rest," Alphonse's pleading eyes were ignored.

 _Again._

The elder Elric crossed his arms stubbornly, "Don't be ridiculous, Al, I'm fine." He teasingly flexed his arm, muscles bulging slightly beneath his uniform, "See? Ready for some action,"

Kimblee smirked and glanced at the pair sideways, "It seems to me you've gone a few days without proper rest,"

Ed glared, "Shut it dynamite, I can still stand and I can fight, that's all that matters," Kimblee frowned at the nickname, but didn't say anything else, watching the other brother readying himself for another verbal battle.

"Why must you be so stubborn, Ed? You know how dangerous it is to go without sleep for more than 48 hours! I can give you a counter medication and you can wake up when we need you, right now there is nothing going on,"

Kimblee smiled secretly, hands in his pockets, "Well, we still need to be on guard, don't we, Ed?" he smirked when the guarded look in the blond's eyes increased tenfold.

"He's right, Al, anything could happen at any moment, it's best if we are prepared," absently, Ed rubbed at his right eye, "Drachma may attack, maybe they found us again, or some other kind of trouble greets us. We have to be ready," he rolled his stiff shoulder, ignoring the prickling sensations of exhaustion crossing his mind and body.

Tch, he could outlast _way_ more than a few days without rest, he wasn't well respected in the military for nothing after all.

Fighting back a yawn, Edward stretched, rolling his shoulders and checking his ammo.

A twig snapped in the distance and his gun fired before either Kimblee or Al could move.

Silence settled over the trio for a moment, Kimblee's slightly widened eyes narrowing when Ed straightened and motioned to move cautiously forward.

Al kept his distance behind them, but readied his own weapons, medic pouch strapped to his lower back securely.

Ed slowly moved toward the dense forested area, blinking away the blurry spots in his vision.

His eyes were burning.

Dismissing his body's reactions, Ed pointed his gun at the spot he thought the noise had originated from.

Nothing.

"Maybe it was an animal," Kimblee's input made him snort.

"Yeah, a squirrel with a gun and a grenade belt ready to blast us," he retorted back dryly, eyes still scanning the woods suspiciously, "Hey, Kimblee, get Hughes and Mustang will ya? I get the feeling like we ain't-"

A sudden force slammed into him from his side and launched him into the air.

Ed barely had enough time to cover his head and curl into a protective ball when he rolled on the ground, using the impact to maneuver himself into a pained crouching position.

" _Brother!_ " Alphonse cried out worriedly, hands flying to his own semi-automatic rifle to aim at the intruder.

Ed's eyes widened in shock when he finally looked at whatever the hell barged into him.

At first he had thought Kimblee had been right, the size of the thing reminded him of a bear, maybe even larger.

It was a man.

A soldier.

Possessing the height of Alex Armstrong and the width of one of their tents made to fit six people at least.

Chubby physique betrayed his physical strength, the same one the odd man had used to catapult Ed clean off his feet. Ed was by no means overweight, but he weighted more than the average male.

"Hey! What's the big idea?! Who the hell are ya, huh?!" Ed could feel his fury grow and he felt like sixteen again, back when he still had his regular temper tantrums.

Despite the veil of anger, Ed quickly analyzed his opponent.

Large, obese physique, inhuman strength, small beady, pale eyes, shaven head, large chubby arms and legs.

The man tilted his head to the side and suddenly stuck his thumb into his mouth, like a child, "…Food,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, _food?_

He sprung to his feet angrily, "You tackled me off my feet and nearly gave me a concussion because of _food_?! _The hell?!_ " he grit his teeth.

Was this a joke? Was the man even a soldier? Did he just…wander around in a warzone and steal a uniform off from someone? How did he even _get_ here?!

All those questions suddenly flew out the window when the man poked his large, flat tongue out.

What Ed saw made the blood in his veins freeze to ice.

The man's tongue was tattooed.

It had the same symbol Sloth had carried.

An old, familiar word floated back to him from his subconsciousness.

 _Ouroboros…_

The serpent eating it's own tail…

Ed's eyes widened.

 _Immortality…_

His pupils dilated in horror when he connected the dots.

 _"_ _The sins!_ " he hollered, causing Al and Kimblee's heads to whirl in his direction in alarm, "Get the hell away from him! He's one of the sins!" his eyes narrowed, "Alphonse! Call for back up _now_!"

Without hesitation, the medic raced back toward their base, but it seemed like their opponent wasn't having any of it.

"None of my food can get away!" tongue sticking out obscenely, the man launched himself with impressive speed in Al's direction.

Just before the chubby hands could make contact with the medic's body, a bone crushing kick to the abdomen caused the man to sail through the air, stopping when he hit a tree, successfully destroying the bark.

Ed was panting from the impromptu kick, but straightened, hoisting the rifle in his hands, a burning fury shining brightly in his eyes, " _I'm_ your opponent, _fatty_ ," he growled.

The man struggled to get up, but with support from the shattered bark, managed to wobbly get on his feet.

Ed didn't understand how a man his size and physique could move so fast.

"Hey! Where did you get that tattoo on your tongue from?!" he suspected he was a sin, or a part of them.

The man didn't respond and it further scraped against Ed's nerves, "Oi! I'm talking to you!"

He tensed automatically when the soldier suddenly hung his head forward, large tongue sticking out again, but his eyes seemed different.

Only one word sprung to mind.

 _Bloodthirsty._

Tightening his grip around his weapon, Ed confidently stepped forward with a haughty grin, "Heh, guess I'll have to beat the information outta ya, don't I?"

The man grinned sinisterly, bloodied teeth in full view, " _Hungry…"_

 **Aw damn Gluttony! . Well, well, well, Gluttony's moved into the fray! I know, for some, this chapter might be a bit confusing, but I promise to clarify some points as the story goes on! BTW: Rooms? Labs? Ohhhh we're getting on to something! :3 BTW: The things Derek said was complete gibberish (marked in italics) XD**


	30. The Thrill of the Hunt

**A/N:** Hi guys! So…I actually wanted to update much sooner, but alas, the flu caught me in a very painful bind and I've been confined to bed with high fever and extremely painful spasms and coughing fits, _but_ I'm feeling fit enough to write! :)

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **Pfeh:** Truth be told, Gluttony was still a little out of it, I've made him a bit crazier than usual whenever Lust was insulted, that's why his senseless bouts of anger and disregard for Lust's orders in this chapter ^^ Aw, thank you so, so much! I'm really glad you like my chapters, I hope they won't get boring too soon .

 **JAS:** Haha sorry about that, maybe my riddles seriously don't make sense . I hope the small scene with Riza and Rebecca may have cleared a bit up (or thrown even more questions into the fray as I have the tendency to do that :P). O.O Seriously? Ugh, curse you grammar! I admit, I suck at grammar, I'll take a look and edit the chapter immediately when I have the time (thanks for pointing that out! ;). Thanks so much JAS, I swear my heart melted at the reviews! (dramatic crying)

 **DragonFairyfloss:** hehe, yup poor, poor Greed with a name like that ^^

 **EDIT (13.03.):** Thanks **JAS** and **guest10126** for mentioning the mistake I made about Ed's automail! :) Fixed it up!

 **WARNING: Blood and gore and horror ahead! Minors please turn away! Explicit war scenes!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Thrill of the Hunt**

He moved before his opponent did, firing off bullets from his rifle in rapid succession, the training from his academy days kicking in as he aimed at vital parts. He suddenly remembered his old drill sergeant's words.

 _When you're in front of the enemy, even if your hands are trembling – fight._

His hands weren't trembling yet, they hadn't in a long while, but he would fight nonetheless, fight this freak that was in some way connected to the Homunculi. The agonized, almost childish screams coming from the man rang in his ears distantly.

Calculating eyes surveyed the newly created battlefield and his enemy, before darting toward his only ally, "Kimblee, brace yourself, if his skill is anything like Greed's, we need to be on guard," the soldier nodded imperceptibly, one hand carefully moving behind his back to grab at a grenade.

That's when Gluttony moved.

Faster than Kimblee's hand moved back to his side, he launched himself at the stunned explosives expert, jaws wide open, but before the inevitable bite could occur, three consecutive gunshots pierced the air loudly.

Edward's expression was carefully blank, smoke emitting from the barrel of his gun as he calmly reloaded it, watching blood slowly ooze from the three gunshots on Gluttony's shoulders and in the middle of his forehead in addition to the ones he had previously inflicted.

He waited for the moment his body would start to sway and fall to the ground.

Like it _should_.

But it _didn't._

Instead, slowly, right before their very eyes, the small bullet-sized wounds started closing until no traces of a wound remained.

Ed's heart sped up, "What the hell?" he cocked his rifle, aiming at his head, "You should be dead, how can you heal?" he set his jaw tightly, various questions running through his mind.

He didn't have time to think before the large man propelled himself toward him again at full speed, speed a man of his size and weight shouldn't be capable of.

Ed fell into a crouch, the man diving over his head, until Ed swiftly turned around and fired at his back.

The wounds closed again after long seconds.

He fired. Again and again and _again_.

 _Nothing._

Ed turned his head back, "Kimblee!" just as he turned and started running toward him.

The man nodded, releasing the safety pin and throwing it toward the man, who blinked slowly at the grenade, watching in confusion how Ed threw himself out of range before the thing went off.

Both Kimblee and Ed skidded across the ground from the blast and the soldier's high-pitched screams filled the air.

The wind the explosion brought disturbed small rocks and twigs and Ed weakly batted them away from his face before quickly straightening and hooking one finger into a throwing knife strapped to his lower back.

If this didn't work, Ed would need to employ hand-to-hand combat.

He tapped _that_ foot, feeling the familiar heavy weight of the metal replacing the limb he lost tap against the earth. It felt good, secure. He flexed his arm, ears strained, still ringing from the blast, trying to listen for any signs of damage.

None yet.

Craning his neck, Ed's eyes narrowed when the figure emerged from the smoke and his eyes widened in surprise.

Armor severely damaged beyond repair, flesh burnt and charred and a pout on Gluttony's shredded lips. Ed watched, with a sick sense of fascination, how the flesh slowly morphed back together, sinewy tissue molding back together, burn wounds _slowly_ healing.

He stiffened. _There_.

Ed smirked, "I take it you don't like fire, do you?" keeping one finger hooked to the throwing knife, Ed reached with his automail hand to grab at his own grenade strapped to his belt, "Seems like you don't regenerate as fast when you're being burned,"

The soldier – no the… _thing_ reacted completely different than Ed expected, he started whining, "It hurts! It hurts so much! Why won't you let me eat? I just want to _eat!_ " the creature lunged towards Edward and Ed braced himself, grunting at the brute force slamming into him.

Right when his jaws opened inhumanly wide again did Ed release the safety pin on the grenade and jam it down deep into the man's throat, ignoring the gurgled noises and the desperate teeth trying to clamp around his metal arm.

With a hard shove, Ed finally freed himself, using the man's round stomach to propel himself away from him, "Kimblee! Duck for cover!" the explosive's expert didn't need to be told twice, already diving behind a thick tree while Edward rolled on the ground and wrapped his arms around his head and curled into a protective ball just as the grenade went off again.

Gluttony's anguished screams filled the air again and Ed couldn't help but compare them to a child's, the high quality doing nothing to discourage the comparison, much less just how _hurt_ it sounded.

He shook his head.

He was a _soldier_ , damn it.

And this _thing_ was the enemy.

He didn't deserve any sympathy.

Edward had learned long ago not many things deserved your sympathy when they tried to kill you.

There was a thud, but nothing much else. Not the ear defeating explosion like both soldiers expected.

Ed's eyes widened in shock when he felt pressure on his automail leg and the sight that greeted him chilled him to the bone.

The monster, mangled jaws wrapped tightly around his automail leg, blood freely gushing from in-between his square teeth, stared up at him with beady, pale eyes.

His jaw clenched tighter and Ed winced, " _Eat_ ," he saw something insane in the other man's eyes, uncontrollable.

Shit.

Before Ed could grab his throwing knife, a black blur suddenly moved the soldier cleanly off his feet, jaws releasing in surprise.

Edward was free again and he quickly scrambled to get up wobbly, being caught by none other than his brother.

"Edward!" Al's voice sounded loud to his ears, "Are you hurt?"

Despite his erratically beating heart and the sweat suddenly gathered on his forehead, Ed's eyes calmly zeroed in on Roy, who stood at the ready beside them, "Mustang," he breathed heavily he realized, probably from the fighting and the chilling sight he just witnessed, "They…they regenerate slower when you use fire against them,"

Roy's eyes widened just as Havoc appeared beside him, "They _regenerate_?!" he blanched.

Havoc tightened his grip on his sniper rifle, "Shit Mustang, I don't remember signing up for this," the cigarette usually in Havoc's mouth now fell to the ground in his shock.

Ed took deep calming breaths, feeling electrified with everything going on around him and the blood pumping harshly in his ears. And finally his gaze focused back on the fight before them.

Greed was the one that had slammed into the large man, how, Ed had no idea, but the Xingese man was repeatedly slamming the monster's head against the ground, brutally shattering bones beneath his bruising grip.

Greed kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying against a tree and Ed saw Greed's skin was dark with a metallic-like color.

It was his shield.

"Tch, of course they would send you out to track me down!" Greed's grin was vicious and feral as he repeatedly stomped down on the soldier, "Still haven't lost a pound of baby fat since the last time I saw you Gluttony!"

"Gluttony?" Ed rose an eyebrow, "So, that's his name," he wanted to slap himself, it made sense, given his obscene but large appetite and physique.

Gluttony seemed struggling to get up after Greed's newest assault, pleading eyes directed up at Greed, "Ow! Why do you hit me Greed? It hurts!"

Greed growled, "Shut it! Tell me who the hell sent you and anything you've heard!" he gripped Gluttony's jacket collar, lifting him up from the ground, the wounds on his face healing, "What has my lovely family got planned, hm? You'll tell big brother, won't you?" he grinned viciously.

Gluttony sniffed, eyes beady and innocent, "Lust said to eat everyone but the candidates, you aren't a candidate," Gluttony licked his lips hungrily. Greed's eyes widened.

"Candidates?! What candidates Gluttony?!" he growled, grip tightening, "What has that bitch planned, huh?!"

And suddenly, Gluttony's innocent demeanor changed and his childish voice sounded angry, "Don't insult Lust that way!" he slammed his thick arm against Greed's head, sending the man flying to the side, skidding across the dirt.

"Greed!" Ed ran forward, kneeling next to his friend who gripped his head.

"Ugh, shit, forgot any insults to Lust set him off," he cursed softly under his breath, violet eyes narrowed.

Ed warily watched how Gluttony stood up, preparing to attack, "Tell us how to defeat him, we have to work together,"

Greed laughed, "Heh, right. Listen Ed, the serum injected into every one of us gives us special powers and we aren't very easy to kill, but it's not impossible." He grit his teeth, "Long story short, we have a limited supply of the serum inside us, which can be recharged if we get injected again. If we 'kill' him enough times until it deplenishes and he won't get recharged, he'll stay down for good,"

Ed smirked, "That can be arranged," he shot his friend a look, "Any weak points?"

Greed laughed as he righted himself, "With this blob, everything's a weak point. Just stay away from his mouth when he opens it, he's got a deadly bite,"

Ed looked down at the shredded remains of his uniform pants, exposing the metal of his prosthesis, "Yeah, I noticed," he rolled his shoulders, taking a deep breath before taking on a defensive stance.

Greed's eyes widened slightly, "Hoho, you're gonna fight bare, Cap?" Ed's old title from the time he had become famous made him smirk as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, carefully watching Gluttony approach.

"Yeah, seeing as firearms aren't much of use to him." He flexed his wrist with a grin, "Maybe a good automail punch will do the trick," Greed grinned.

"Watch your step!" and both men sprinted forward, Roy smiling as he readied his own weapons.

"Havoc, make sure you aim for his head whenever you can," Roy pulled on his gloves and smirked, readying up his own explosive weapons.

He smiled at his custom-made rifle, one his own wife helped modify. It was one he affectionately, and secretly, liked to call "Hawk's Flame", in tribute to his beloved wife and his own field of expertise.

Checking if the built-in supply container was filled with gunpowder, Roy smirked and joined the fray.

Ed and Greed had fought long enough by each-others side to fall into sync when they engaged Gluttony, dodging the sin's attacks and dishing them out.

Each successful hit made Gluttony whine and stumble and he suddenly cried out when his eyes caught on fire, hands flailing wildly and blindly reaching for his burning eyes.

Greed and Ed looked behind them to see Roy, who smirked at them, shouldering his rifle, "Don't forget about me,"

A shot rang out and hit Gluttony's forehead and the screams intensified, "And me!" Havoc grinned and waved, Al shifted nervously beside him.

Greed smirked, "Just overwhelm him! He's a big-," Greed delivered a hard uppercut to his jaw, making Gluttony cry out, "-Cry baby!" kicking the sin in the stomach next.

Blood spurted out from Gluttony's nose and the bald man cradled it gingerly, tears streaming down his face like twin rivers, "Ouch! That hurts so much Greed! Why are you hurting me?" he blinked, small beady eyes fixed upon him, "…Lust said to eat everyone but the candidates, I guess I can eat you then!" jaws pried wide open, he threw himself at his sworn brother with incredible speed and Greed fell to the ground like a log.

"Greed!" Ed shouted out.

The man grunted heavily when his hands bled from keeping Gluttony's ravenous mouth away from his face, his fingers digging against Gluttony's blunt teeth as they each tried to overpower the other.

"Ah, damn!" Greed cursed, feeling his shield dropping and regenerative abilities kicking in, "Not now!" he looked at Ed, "Stop _staring_ and help me before I end up as dinner!" he bellowed and his voice boomed in Ed's ears akin to an explosion, fierce and loud.

A torrent of fire rushed over Gluttony's back and the smell of burnt flesh hit Greed's nose like a truck when Gluttony's screeched like a banshee, a horrific high-pitched sound that made his head spin, and rolled off of him.

Greed quickly stumbled to his feet, hissing at his bleeding fingers, "Are you alright?" It was Ed that asked in-between deep breaths of air.

Greed shot him a dry look, "Do I _look_ alright to you, cap?!" his nerves were on edge, not because of the pain in his fingers, which were healing, but because _Gluttony_ was here.

Ed frowned, "Well, you have a super serum! This should be a scratch!" the glare Greed bestowed him with made him think otherwise.

"Yeah, serum or not, that's not how it works!" Greed braced himself for another one of Gluttony's attacks, he carefully watched his stance. Despite his large, obese form, he knew Gluttony had no problem moving around as fast as Ling _if_ he set his mind to it and all that his head was full of wasn't food.

His eyes widened and Greed ripped off one of the grenades attached to Ed's belt, since he no longer had any of his own, "Hey!" ignoring Ed's protest, Greed grinned viciously as he ran toward the soldier, "Hey, Gluttony! Fetch!" he ripped of the safety pin of the grenade and launched his whole body toward Gluttony's torso, one hand clutching tightly at the fabric of his uniform while the other shoved the bomb straight down Gluttony's open jaw, down his throat.

He ignored the gurgling noises his sworn brother made and instead planted his feet firmly against his round stomach and use the moment to propel himself as far away from him as he could and just when he skidded roughly across the dirt, he heard a muffled explosion go off behind him.

The impact wasn't as strong as when the bomb would have gone off out in the open, but blood splattered onto his and his companions uniform and Greed grimaced at the sight that greeted him when he turned around.

Gluttony's torso looked mangled, as if mauled by several vicious bears and every other aggressive animal he could think of, his torso looked like it was had been thoroughly chewed before spat out in a messy, bloody heap of torn and burnt flesh.

Bloody bone peeked forth from the shredded pieces of Gluttony's shoulders, blood freely gushing down his whole front, the bomb having completely destroyed Gluttony's face and everything down to his ribcage. He looked like a…torseless zombie.

He could hear Havoc gag, "Oh _ew,_ hello _no_! This is _not_ what I signed up for!"

Mustang made a noise of agreement, a cross between a sound of disgust and surprise.

Gluttony was still standing.

And suddenly, it began.

Greed's features grew grim when he recognized the telltale signs of the regenerative abilities of the serum kicking in, subtle specks of red lightning-like current zipping over Gluttony's half destroyed body, the torn flesh slowly pulling itself back together, shattered bones joining again until his torso, along with his face, were fully repaired.

Gluttony's pale, beady eyes stared first at Ed then at him and Greed cringed internally.

He was _mad_.

"Why won't you let _ME EAT?!"_ the animalistic roar tore from Gluttony's throat and the brute moved with speed even Greed had difficulties keeping up with.

It was only thanks to his reflexes that he dodged Gluttony's wide open jaws, dodging to the side and sighing in relief when Mustang's torrents of fire hit his former sworn brother again.

Gluttony's screams of agony and pain pierced the air and Ed found his heart tighten. Despite this being the _enemy_ , a _soldier_ out for their heads, he couldn't help but cringe at the screams Gluttony emitted.

They sounded like the pained, broken screams of a child shouting helplessly for its mother, of an innocent child in _pain_.

Roy didn't seem to have many qualms, mercilessly keeping the torrent of fire going, watching Gluttony's skin burn and roast like pork, "Havoc! Shoot!" the sniper didn't need to be told twice, despite the violently writhing body of his target, his aim was perfect, multiple bullets hitting their mark on Gluttony's head and neck.

Roy stopped his assault and the air grew very still, all eyes anxiously settled on Gluttony to see if he would stay down.

Greed's gaze narrowed at the subtle twitch of muscle on Gluttony's burned jaw and he tensed, "Get away from him! _Now!_ "

It seemed like Gluttony still had plenty of the serum inside him, he moved even while he healed, mercilessly attacking Greed, who protected himself with his shield, only feeling bouts of pressure against his crossed arms that would normally cripple a man.

" _Fuck!_ Get the hell off me you fatass!" Greed delivered a high, bone crushing elbow to Gluttony's jaw and he heard a loud crack, probably from the broken bone, until Gluttony slammed his joined hands down on Greed's spine and slammed him into the ground.

Greed's eyes widened at the intense pressure and the air was literally forced out of his lungs, "That hurt!" Gluttony's enraged complaint sounded distant yet loud to Greed's ears and a sense of relief flooded him at still having his shield up.

The force of the blow would have outright killed him, Greed was thankful for his shield.

"I don't _care_!" with a mighty shove, Greed was back on his feet, advancing on Gluttony again and again, aided from all sides by Ed, Mustang and Havoc.

Ed slammed his automail arm right into Gluttony's face and he cringed at the pressure it caused in his artificial limb, " _That's_ for biting me!" the attack was brutal and would have broken in a normal man's skull, but they were harshly reminded Gluttony wasn't a normal man by the dangerous snapping of teeth just shy off tearing Ed's whole human arm off.

The blond had evaded it by a hair's breath.

"Fullmetal!" Roy's voice carried over the sounds of battle, sounding almost clear, "We need to restrain him! It's no use fighting continuously, he'll only heal!"

Of that, he was aware of, but how could they restrain him? He had the inkling feeling like Gluttony would be able to tear through any thick ropes they had.

Still, they couldn't let him escape, a valuable source of information and an enemy.

He frowned, carefully watching Greed engage the man in close combat and trying to figure out what to do when a white and blue blur suddenly zipped past him.

" _Greed! Dodge!_ " Ling's voice boomed through the sounds of battle and Greed did a backflip just as the blur of white and blue rushed all around Gluttony's body and Ed could make out that the obese man was being… _tied up?_

By a _wire_?

Ed could only watch as Ling worked as fast as he could, too quick for his eyes to follow, wrapping the thick metallic cord all around Gluttony's large limbs until each body part was encased in the strong metal, effectively forcing him to bend in an extremely compressed, awkward ball of trembling human limbs. The wire wrapped several times over his mouth, preventing him from opening his jaw.

Ling stood off to the side, panting from the exertion of tying up Gluttony, the skin of his hands red from handling the rough material of the wire.

Greed slowly walked to stand next to his brother, "Good job," he clasped a heavy hand on Ling's shoulder and the Xingese medic scanned his brother for any injuries, narrowing disapprovingly at the labored breathing and the way he carried himself.

Ed unceremoniously fell backwards to the ground, propping up one knee to rest his elbow against it, burying his face in his hand.

Finally. It was over.

"Damn…" Ed heard the protest of metal when he rolled his shoulder, no doubt he would need to call for a mechanic again to get it checked. That could take days until one arrived.

He cursed softly under his breath and saw Roy's boot as it entered his field of vision beside him, "Injured?"

Ed's reply was automatic, "No, tired." He chanced a glance up at his superior, a small smirk on his lips, "I won't waste my breath asking you, all you did was stand and play with your flame thrower,"

Roy bristled, immediately falling back to their age-old banter, "It's called _Hawk's Flame,_ Fullmetal and it proved infinitely useful against our enemies," he smirked, pleased with his retort.

Havoc smoked his cigarette behind them calmly, "Can't believe they allowed people like you in the military,"

Both Roy and Ed turned to glare at the sniper, who shrugged and held his hand up in a placating gesture, returning his attention to the restrained Gluttony a few feet away.

Roy shouldered his weapon, a certain sharp edge to his tone as he approached Gluttony's trembling form, "Alright, _let's talk,"_

His intentions were unmistakable, and Greed couldn't suppress the grin from stretching his lips as Gluttony whimpered.

* * *

"Riza, I don't think this will change anything if you smash your head against the wall," Rebecca sat across from her at the small coffee table, sipping quietly on her coffee, "And you're saying not even the State military data base has any info? Or the library?"

Riza shook her head, mulling over the spread documents before her, "I've been denied access, like I said and nothing turned up in the library, not even the classified section contained anything worthwhile. Whatever this project is, it must be something not even the military as a whole is allowed to know," she bit her bottom lip, eyes scanning a full list of all sorts of laboratories and projects the military ever engaged in, at the front of these documents lay the small piece of paper with Grumman's cryptic words.

 _Seven rooms. Two of them got torn down. One got locked and abandoned. Only four rooms were available for living. How many rooms remained?_

Rebecca leaned over the table and swiftly snatched the piece of paper, looking it over with a raised eyebrow, "What could the rooms stand for anyway? Military bases? Camps?" she looked at her friend curiously.

Riza shook her head with a sigh, "I…don't think so. Maybe. I haven't figured out that one out yet." Her fingers massaged the crease between her eyebrows tiredly, "I think the first two sentences are insignificant, meant to confuse us." That would fit in with the scheme of Grumman well, "The rest is important. The locked room and the other four rooms available for living," she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, grabbing a clean sheet of paper to write her thoughts on it, "There must be people involved, occupying these 'rooms', these places, whatever they are. They must have a link to the military," Rebecca frowned.

"Something connected to the military, a room or space that got locked down and abandoned… do we have something like that? All that comes to mind are former POW camps," she shrugged, scratching Black Hayate on the head when she felt his tail brush against her legs from under the coffee table, demanding attention.

Riza's eyes narrowed in thought, "Perhaps…" she drew a square with the word _POW_ above it, writing the word _LOCKED_ inside of it, next to it she drew four other squares titled _OPEN._

"The locked down room wouldn't be insignificant if he bothered mentioning it at all, so it must serve a purpose despite it's inactive state," Riza sighed, "Former military bases and prisoner of war camps were known to be used for shady operations from criminal organizations before Bradley came to power and tore them down."

Rebecca raised a finger, "Yeah, the labs were used that way too,"

Riza's pencil froze above the paper.

"Labs…" she frowned, "Five rooms…four were open for living and one was locked down," she rubbed her chin, "Maybe I'm wrong,"

Rebecca leaned forward on her crossed elbows, "About what?"

Riza met her gaze, "The laboratories…we have only four of them," she rubbed her arm uneasily, "They were used for chemical experimentations years ago, now served as laboratories for biological weapons and the medical field,"

Rebecca's eyes suddenly lighted up in realization, "Hey wait a sec! Wasn't there a scandal sometime ago about the labs? Something about inhuman experiments that the military tried to sweep under a rug?" she leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms, "I bet Hughes would know something about them,"

Riza's brow furrowed, "Perhaps, I should notify Roy of this. The intelligence network is bound to discover something," a small smile curled her lips, "Perhaps madam Christmas would know something as well,"

Rebecca grinned broadly, "Hell yeah, that old hag's still a badass! I wish I could be like that when I grow old," Riza chuckled at her friend, calmly sipping at her own coffee.

"Wouldn't you now…" her eyes twinkled with amusement.

* * *

The atmosphere in the hastily built up tent was stifling, maybe it was because of Gluttony's presence in it, or maybe the general sour mood everyone found themselves in.

Greed's violet eyes seemed almost a demonic red when he glared at his sworn brother, gun loosely held in one hand, "How many times do I have to shoot you for you to talk?" he pointed it at Gluttony's forehead, pale beady eyes staring up at him from their uncomfortable position on the floor.

Ling placed a calming hand on his brother's arm, making him lower the weapon, "Maybe violence isn't the answer this time," he observed Gluttony's withering mass carefully, "He seems frightened, Greed,"

Greed's gaze could cut steel, " _Oh?_ _Frightened?_ Oh, _I'm sorry_ , did I scare the poor, shitty cry baby?!" Greed's guttural growl sounded loud in the room when he pressed the gun back to Gluttony's forehead, face mere inches away from him, "Listen Gluttony, you may have the intelligence of a sloth, but even you're not that dumb to be completely unaware of what's going on. How much do you know what the others are planning hm?" he ignored Gluttony's whimpers when he pressed the gun further into his skin.

Due to Ling's tight wire trap, Gluttony couldn't do more than release muffled whimpers, and Greed had half a mind to tear apart the wire, just to receive some answers.

He sighed, pulling the gun away and standing upright, "Damn it," he glared down at their prisoner.

"Maybe we could tie him up differently, so he can speak?" Ed's suggestion was met with a cautious glare from Roy.

"I don't think that's a good idea, you all saw what he was capable of with his mouth alone," Roy grimaced, grotesque images of torn bloody human flesh still imprinted in his mind.

Ed allowed the scowl on his face to deepen, "This doesn't make sense. If we can't interrogate him we should kill him," Greed's humorless chuckle made the blond glare at him.

"Oh yeah? We could be stuck here for days kid. I don't know when his dose was replenished, if it's to full power, this could take days before he's dead," he kicked Gluttony's side, hard enough to obviously break bone since the familiar red energy glowed briefly to heal his injury, "Lusty's smart, I'll give her that. Even if we ended up capturing you, it's far from a park's walk to getting answers,"

Gluttony kept writhing around, eyes looking up pleadingly at Greed, who remained stern with glaring at him.

Alphonse rubbed the back of his neck, his medic side surfacing through, "I know he's the enemy but…Greed, you said yourself that he has the mentality of an infant, if he's docile now, he shouldn't pose a threat, right?" he gazed down sadly at Gluttony's pleading eyes, "He…looks so sad,"

Greed snarled immediately, "Tch, yeah, question is for how long he will remain docile. Gluttony's like the retarded fat kid guarding the cake. If he's hungry, he will kill for a slice, if not he's a friendly, oversized baby,"

Alphonse frowned and Ed couldn't help but voice his protest, "You know, as much as I don't like this, maybe Al's right," he crossed his arms, ignoring Greed's scathing look, "He's dangerous, but only when he's hungry. He…" at this he swallowed roughly, "…ate his fill before and he seems scared shitless now than like a soldier. Maybe just loosening the wire around his mouth enough for him to talk for a while won't be so bad," he shrugged, truly conflicted over everything.

He shared a look with Roy, who looked just as troubled, "We've never been forced into such a…peculiar situation before." He looked at Greed's mistrusting eyes, "I trust your judgement Greed, since you know him the most out of any of us." He nodded, letting the ball fall in Greed's court.

The Xingese man grit his teeth, crossing his arms over his chest tightly, "I wouldn't trust Gluttony anywhere without a leash on." He looked at Ed, then back at Ling, Roy and Al, "We usually kept him under lock and key, or at least somewhat restrained back then," he looked at his shivering form on the ground with no traces of sympathy, "Not only that he's a cannibal, he's dangerous enough without his giant mouth." His gaze narrowed, voice tense with seriousness, "The serum enhances physical capabilities, enhanced strength, agility, healing rate, durability…" he shrugged, "Some are specific enhancements, according to the altered formula," he hardened one part of his arm as demonstration, the blood in his veins turning a metallic grey, "The composition of carbon in your body can be magnified to the point of having a near to indestructible shield, covered by skin, the Ultimate Shield," He looked each of his friends in the eye, "Normal human nails can achieve nearly the same hardness as my shield and elongate to inhuman proportions, those are Lust's abilities,"

Greed seemed unconcerned he was revealing his sibling's abilities in front of the enemy as he continued talking, "Envy can change his bodily features to certain degrees, altering his appearance to adapt to anybody he studies closely enough. In bouts of rage, he turns into a similar monster to this guy," he jabbed his thumb at Gluttony, "He's a bit of a unstable psychopath, so I would be careful around him,"

Ed frowned, "You…got a nice family there," he coughed into his hand, awkwardly shifting his weight.

Greed smirked, "That's not half of it. Now to the good part. Sloth's a lazy ass but he has inhuman physical strength and speed similar to Ling's," he shared a wary look with his brother, "Without the heavy chains around his feet and wrists, I'm sure he would fly off somewhere how fast he can get," he shrugged, "Onto the real bad boys," he tensed, drawing a deep breath, "Wrath's a highly skilled sword wielder, the serum granted him powers in his eye. We liked to call it the 'Ultimate Eye'. Apparently, he can anticipate his enemy's movements." When he noticed the looks he was receiving, Greed rolled his eyes, "No, he can't see into the future, but he can pick up on physical changes in his opponent's movements and gauge their next actions." He shrugged, "Twitching muscles in the right arm, the opponent moves to the right. Your foot slides slightly forward, it means a frontal attack. It's all about observing, really,"

Greed took a deep breath, gaze narrowed at the ground, his voice dropping an octave, "As for Pride…" he shook his head, "The brat's dangerous, one of the most powerful of us, as much as I hate saying it. His powers are the creepiest, even creepier than Gluttony's," he made a grimace of disgust, "Nothing as disgusting though, but…ever heard of that weird creep with shadowy arms that abducts children? That weird story that was in the media a while ago,"

Roy thought for a moment, before responding, "…Slenderman?"

Greed nodded, "Yeah…similar creepy shit. He can control shadows to his whim, he can use your own shadow against you. But he's absolutely useless if there's no light. He can't use his powers if he's completely covered in darkness," he smirked slightly.

Edward sighed, looking at Gluttony, "Great, we're up against super humans," he ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

Greed grunted, "We're not so normal either," he shrugged and Ed didn't fail to notice the way his gaze lingered on his automail.

Ed winced, "We don't have a fancy serum," he pointedly looked at Greed, "Well…most of us,"

Roy frowned, "We still don't know what their plan is," his gaze locked with Greed, "Listen Greed, I know you think this is a bad idea, but it's the only way to figure anything out,"

Greed tensed, turning around to look at Gluttony, eyes carefully scanning his body language.

He seemed to be in his docile state, nevertheless, Greed crouched down to one knee and roughly pulled on the wire imprisoning the sin, making Gluttony wince and whimper pathetically, "If you dare open your big mouth for anything else other than _talking_ ," with that, Greed's shield covered the expanse of his arms, "I'll make sure however much of the serum you have will be completely depleted by the end of the _night_ ," he released him roughly, exiting the tent, the air becoming too stifling to him.

Ling worriedly watched his brother go, before walking after him.

Ed sighed at the predicament, sharing a skeptical look with his own brother, "You think this is a good idea? Greed knows him best, he may be right,"

Alphonse looked helpless, watching the poor man whimper, "I…don't know, he looks so helpless like this." He cut in before his brother could voice any protest, "I know he tried to kill us back there and that looks shouldn't deceive us, but, but-!" he took a sharp breath, his normally soft eyes burning, "We have to get to information somehow, we have to make use of the situation _somehow_ ,"

His brother was right, of course he was right, Ed knew that too. Killing Gluttony would be a waste after the trouble they went through to restrain him, if Greed had calmed down enough, he may play an instrumental role in interrogating Gluttony and making him tell them everything he knows.

"Considering, he _knows_ anything at all," Roy cut in softly, voice far calmer than Edward had anticipated it.

The blond rose an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Roy looked at him, "Greed said they kept him locked up because of his ravenous hunger." His calculating gaze scrutinized him carefully, "If we were to completely believe Greed's words, his intelligence is lacking and I highly doubt the rest of his… _brethren_ would bother to inform him of anything he shouldn't explicitly know about his mission," he sighed heavily, looking at Edward solemnly, "It's the same tactic high ranking officers use for the newly appointed ones. Send out one to do the grunt work, the less he knows the better, if he gets captured along the mission, the chance for the enemy to find anything out is far less. That way secrets are kept and they wouldn't lose valuable soldiers,"

Ed frowned, lips tightening into a thin line, "Yeah, I know, but still. Maybe he's not as dimwitted as he pretends. He said something about not eating the candidates," his gaze shot to Gluttony, "There's something we can work with, maybe they told him a bit more,"

Roy frowned, "It's a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless,"

"Whatever it is, let's hope he knows." Ed thought for a moment, "Maybe that Lust girl told him something, though Greed doesn't seem to be on the best of terms with her, calling her a bitch," he scratched the back of his neck, sighing. He rotated his wrist, hearing the groaning of metal, "Anyway, let's get this over with," he turned toward Gluttony, ready to release him when he froze on the spot.

Gluttony's form was shaking violently, even more so than before, but this time it wasn't out of helplessness or fear or anything similar.

His small beady eyes were wild, angry, fixated intently on Edward and the wire around him dug only deeper into his flesh the more Gluttony fought against it. Roy and Ed tensed and took a step back, while Al's hand flew down to his pouch, searching for his paralytic needles.

It was the sound of loud ripping, of the groaning of metal and the animalistic growls coming from their prisoner that caused all three men to make a grab for their weapons, but it was too late.

Gluttony moved faster than any of them could blink and Ed found himself on the receiving end of large, blunt teeth and the smell of death and decay breathed down his face.

"Brother!"

"Fullmetal!" two simultaneous shouts echoed in the small tent and Ed barely heard his brother shout for reinforcements.

Large teeth came dangerously close to snap his neck, Gluttony's eyes looked crazed and his movements were sloppy but powerful and vicious, just like in the battlefield. Just what the hell made him snap?

He pushed Gluttony away with his automail hand and made a run outside the tent, hollering commands as he did so, instructing his men to stay down. Not pausing to glance back and see where Greed and the rest were, he _had_ to keep running.

Gluttony was dangerous, having him in the middle of his camp, unbound and ravenous, would cause more casualties than any of them were prepared or capable to afford.

He _needed_ to get the monster away from here.

He heard the heavy but fast footsteps behind him, felling tree after tree as Edward ran deeper inside the forest, feeling the blood pumping in his ears and his heart hammering in his chest like a wild bird rattling against its cage.

Perspiration coated his forehead and his whole body felt hot and cold at the same time and he realized with a start what that feeling was.

 _Fear._

Just as the treacherous voice of truth echoed in his mind like a slow spreading poison, an enormous weight slammed into him from behind and Ed cried out when he narrowly avoided landing on his human arm and managed to put the brunt of the fall on his automail side.

The jarring impact made him cry out, immense pressure against his side made him cough and wheeze as the air was forced from his lungs, burning in a way they've never before.

He could feel the metal protesting against the combined weight of his own body and Gluttony's elephant weight on him and he cried out in pain again when the nerve endings were violently disconnected from his limb replacement.

Gluttony's jaw was once again wrapped around the prosthetic tightly, teeth clamped around it like a steel trap, the artificial limb hanging uselessly from his mouth like a bone would from a dog's and in a similar fashion, Gluttony spat out the offending object, saliva dripping savagely down his wide mouth.

Ed felt a sudden, icy coldness pierce his heart like it hadn't in a long while and he realized he was still more human than he believed to be all these years working as a dog for the military.

He still felt _fear_. He still feared for his _life_. He still feared the sight before him, that wasn't even remotely _human_. He thought he had nearly seen all the atrocities humanity had to offer, all the sights of blood and gore and death, but he was jarringly reminded that despite their physical appearance, they weren't _human._

Greed was, of that he was sure. But the thing staring at him now, the _monster_ that just violently ripped out his limb replacement with his _mouth_ , _wasn't_ human.

Fear was what locked Ed's body in place, he tried willing himself to move, to get out of the situation he was in, but he _couldn't_.

From Gluttony's weight pressing on him, the blood flow to his legs was temporarily cut off and he felt like ants were crawling or dozens of tiny needless were piercing the expanse of them, his hands shaking violently at his sides as he tried to control his breathing, looking up at angry eyes of his assailant.

He was a _soldier._

A _killing machine._

 _Soldiers_ weren't supposed to act like _this_. He had thought he had shed every semblance of everything _human_ inside him when he joined the military, because _human_ emotions held him back.

It seemed he had been so very wrong.

Not even Fullmetal could save him out of this situation with his shut down emotions.

"Finally I can _eat_ ," Gluttony's usually whiny, childish voice was far deeper now, _guttural_ and Ed felt something warm and moist coat his exposed neck and realized with a shiver that it was Gluttony's saliva dripping from his mouth.

Exposed blunt teeth were far too close to his face for comfort and when his eyes zeroed in on foreign looking bits and pieces of something stuck between Gluttony's teeth, his eyes widened in horror when he figured out what it was.

The remains of human flesh Gluttony had consumed before they restrained him.

Instincts screamed at him to do _something_ , to fight and push the danger away from himself, to save himself and _bolt_.

Time seemed to have slowed down, at least to him.

He felt acutely aware of _everything_ now.

The blood rushing loud in his ears, like the crashing waves of the sea.

The hot and cold sensations running through his whole body and the clammy, moist feeling of his trembling hands as they dug into the soil beneath his body.

The dribbling, bone-chilling sensations of Gluttony's saliva running down his throat as his jaw came dangerously close to the exposed human flesh.

The intense pressure of Gluttony's weight cutting off his blood flow to his legs, the sensations of ants crawling up and down his unmoving legs.

And then, _nothing_.

All he felt was his rapidly beating heart.

He wasn't even sure he was _breathing_ by this point.

And as surreal as it sounded, he thought he saw his life flash before his eyes.

Of the blurry memories of him and Al as little kids, when mom was still healthy and playing with them out in the field, how happy they were when dad came home from work, how they got in trouble for sneaking into dad's study to search through his many books and scripts.

The times he was bullied in school for being smarter than everyone his age, the times he kept fighting his classmates for bullying his brother, his first unrequited crush, all the times he and Al studied tirelessly and did their homework.

Then mom's death and dad's departure from home, him forced to grow up and take care of Al. Them enrolling into university and then the military.

All the trials, the blood, sweat and tears he poured into the academy. The horror when he found out Al enrolled in the military too, only weeks after him. Flashes of people he had met, images of small scale wars and conflicts he had been involved in, faces of dead people, of destroyed homes and torn families.

He remembered the journal he had found, tattered and abandoned in one of the tents of a campsite. He remembered how true the hidden message behind the words of poetry were, how the soldiers did the grunt work for the higher ups and had to live with the consequences of war and everything connected to it.

He remembered the first signs of Al losing his humanity the longer his time in the military ranged on. He remembered vowing to do everything he could to bring that back. To bring his brother back.

He felt blunt pressure being applied to his neck and his whole body froze, unmoving.

 _Move._

He shut his eyes tightly closed.

The pressure grew.

 _Move._

His pulse beat erratically beneath the threat of the closing teeth around his neck and he felt the panic in his chest mount.

 _Fucking_ _ **move**_ _!_

Ed's eyes shot open, wide horror-stricken eyes shooting down to look at Gluttony's face.

 _"_ _Brother!"_ it happened so suddenly, Ed wasn't sure what happened first or who moved first.

His human elbow had slammed onto the side of Gluttony's jaw after he craned his neck back as far as he could, blunt teeth sliding away from his bruised flesh at the painful impact of his elbow. Ed felt like he had nearly dislocated his shoulder from the impact.

A needle imbedded itself directly above the space between Gluttony's eyes and Ed could see how they glazed over slowly, as if in a daze.

Ed reacted quickly.

He used what little feeling he regained in his legs to his advantage and bucked Gluttony's weight off him, quickly and wobbly scrambling on his only human hand and knees to stumble into his brother's awaiting arms, his one arm shaking from holding himself up without the support of his artificial limb.

He could hear more needless were imbedded within Gluttony's flesh, but he couldn't bring himself to look, to care enough to look.

He stared dead at the uniform of his brother, at the familiar red cross of his medic unit, at the green color of the fabric instead of the issued blue military uniforms worn for outside of the warzone.

And finally, everything came crashing back to him.

He could suddenly feel his labored breaths, the soreness in his throat, the indescribable _burn_ and he realized he had, at some point while Gluttony started trying to eat him alive, screaming for his life.

His cold, clammy hand shakily inspected his throat and he found only shallow pressure marks created by Gluttony's teeth lining the side of his neck.

He was alive.

He didn't break skin, he wasn't hurt aside from superficial bruises.

His legs were still tingling, his heart was still hammering hard in his chest, the blood was still rushing in his ears, but he didn't feel like he would die of cardiac arrest anymore.

He was _alive._

Ed slowly clutched at the fabric of his younger brother's uniform, eyes wide and unseeing, "Al…Al…Alphonse…are you okay?" his shaky voice sounded foreign to his own ears, hoarse from screaming.

Familiar hands tightly grasped his shoulders, but his eyes remained fixated on a unmoving point, despite his vision being filled with the familiar gold of his brother's eyes, eyes that were wide with horror and filled with worry and panic.

"Am _I_ okay? _Am_ _I okay?!_ Brother, you were almost _eaten_! You can't be asking _me_ how I am!" he shook his shoulders, uncaring for the daze and state of shock his brother was in, "Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_ "

His brother's words were lost to him, the blood pumping in his ears was too loud to hear anything clearly and anything Alphonse said was muffled and the shaking he was subjected to was only getting worse.

With a trembling hand, Ed desperately grabbed his brother's wrist, effectively stopping him from shaking what little life he still had left out of him.

Alphonse froze, breath coming out in quick pants from his verbal lecture and the heart attack he almost got at seeing his brother, _his brother_ , on the ground with Gluttony's teeth around his neck.

He tensed when Edward's hand shook horribly, his instincts screaming at him to offer immediate medical help but he subconsciously recognized the signs of shock and trauma.

His brother was panting too hard, "E-Edward, calm down, breathe deeply, deep breaths brother," Alphonse _couldn't_ be weak now, not when his brother needed him.

Ed said nothing, he tried to listen to what his brother was saying.

He barely registered Mustang and Greed and everyone else arriving on the scene, he didn't even hear Greed talking, only watching how his mouth was moving and forming soundless words.

His breath was still erratic, he was still sweating, he was still unfocused.

 _Come on Fullmetal!_

He was a soldier, damn it.

Soldiers don't go into shock in the middle of battle.

He had brushed death's shoulder plenty of times.

So why did _this_ encounter leave him so shaken?

 _"_ _Maybe because this had been the closest of them all,"_ he tried to ignore the voice in the back of his mind, he tried to focus on his breathing.

He was gripping the roots of half withered vegetation in his hand, gripping them so tightly his knuckles were white.

But he didn't _care_.

 _Anything_ that was anchoring him to the real world right now.

His brother's warm hand on his shoulder was welcome.

The burning in his lungs was welcome.

Even the limp body of Gluttony as it was being dragged away felt welcome and Ed finally allowed his body to shut down.

He didn't register the arms that caught his fall, nor the strangely authoritative voice of his brother barking commands at everyone around them to _get them the hell into a medical tent_ , he also didn't register several hands on his body, repositioning him, he barely felt being carried slung over someone's back.

The last thing he saw was the moving earth from his perch on somebody's back.

The last thing he heard was the voice of his brother, now soft and calm and laced with worry, sounding from somewhere near him, " _It's gonna be alright, brother."_

Ed closed his eyes and slept.

 **Thoughts? :)**


	31. With Eyes Wide Open

**A/N:** Hello everyone, it's good to be back again. :) I hope all my precious readers are doing alright and if not, I'm sending a lot of comforting hugs! Life's roughing me up a bit, but I hope for better times :3

 **CHAPTER NOTICE:** Anyway, this chapter will begin with scenes of the past during Ed's academy days, I won't be putting the whole text in _italics_ because that would be an eyesore, I'll just put spoken words in _italics_ to know it's set in the past. Then we will slowly rewind and jump right onto when Ed wakes up after fighting Gluttony.

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **With Eyes Wide Open**

A group of laughing men, just in their beginning twenties, strolled casually down the hall of what was to be their second home during their time in the military and Ed scoffed at their leisurely gait and half-assed jokes.

Reality hadn't quite sunk in yet for some and that just made Edward furious hearing the comments of how easy it would be to pass the final exams and become full-fledged soldiers ready to 'wipe the floor with enemy scum and become war heroes'.

 _Becoming dogs of the military._

Class began, and Edward was seated in the middle, close enough to pay attention to their teacher but far away enough from anyone that looked like they would talk to him.

" _I heard you've already attended several classes in psychological warfare, correct? Is someone capable of telling me how to gather information from a prisoner of war by utilizing any means necessary, including mild forms of torture of any kind?"_ the teacher was dressed in military garb, as was anyone employed here and Edward could see the dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes themselves didn't look hardened or had that faraway look like some of the other ones did.

" _This one must have only studied military strategies and tactics but had not actively participated in any wars,"_ Edward thought, he couldn't say he blamed the man. Living with the consequences one had to face after being lucky enough to survive a war were terrifying, he could imagine.

Edward raised his hand, dropping it when the teacher signaled for him to speak, " _Interrogating prisoners of war is similar to brainwashing someone, isn't it? Isolation, sleep deprivation, perhaps inconsistent and small meals, physical or mental abuse, using reverse psychology or any other form of tricks to make the prisoner start doubting their own thoughts and what they know, creating internal conflict within themselves. If we could manage to keep them on their toes and on high alert, they might break soon enough."_ His gaze was calm and he noticed several of his 'classmates' started to whisper among themselves.

The teacher rose an eyebrow, a barely audible smile on his face, " _That is correct. However, the military is working to educate soldiers on the field in the art of speech and manipulation more so that, before physical torture is deemed necessary, we would only use words at our disposal."_

Another student raised his hand then, " _What does it matter anyway? They're prisoners, right? They're the enemy, I think it's nothing bad if we inflict some damage on them if they could mercilessly kill some of my comrades and fellow countrymen,"_ a lot of approving nods and hums of agreement sounded throughout the room and the teacher raised his hand to silence them.

Edward felt a shiver run down his spine suddenly and he had a feeling the uniformed man was about to say something big, " _Those so called enemies you speak of…"_ the teacher looked down at his desk before again at the all the soldiers in training, " _We are their enemies too, I'm certain you would see differently were you a prisoner of war. Just like us, they are humans with feelings, lives. They have families, friends, relatives, people that care for them."_ And then, something hardened in his teacher's eyes that made Ed feel slightly on edge, " _Every life that you take, whether it be friend or foe, is not just_ _ **one**_ _life."_ He paused, to let his words sink in, to create an impact and partially shocked and stricken faces greeted him, " _It's_ _ **every**_ _life connected to them, every friend, lover, family member or partner. I wish I could say you will never find yourselves in a situation where you decide over a person's life, but that would be a lie,"_

The grim silence that followed made Ed nearly break his pencil.

He didn't think of the military as a place full of fun and games, but the reality of his own decision enrolling into such a place hit him again when he entered the privacy of his room and replayed his teacher's words in his head.

Alphonse would stay behind in Resembool, safe and sound, and then, what would happen should he fall in battle? Al had no one aside himself, his brother was resilient and resourceful and smart, he was capable of taking care of himself just fine, but Ed didn't want to hurt his brother in this way.

It was bad enough when their mother died, when their shitty father left, but him leaving too would be like a punch to the gut. It didn't sit well with him, but it was the only choice he had, fight in a war and do everything he could to protect his brother from harm or be stuck sitting ducks while said war was taking place and nobody knew which side would win.

At least with his involvement, they would have an extra pair of hands to help turning the tides. Maybe if he trained and tried hard enough, maybe he could amount to something, maybe he could use his knowledge in alchemy and chemistry to his advantage, after all, modern warfare partially relied on all sorts of biological weapons and chemicals, maybe-

A knock on the door gave him pause and Edward stood up to answer it.

Was it the new roommate he would have to share the bunk with? Every trainee needed to share the room with a fellow trainee and so far, not even half of them were assigned roommates.

Perhaps Edward's time of doom came earlier than he thought, he wasn't exactly a people's person.

"…. _AL?!"_ his shocked screech reminded him of a velociraptor, but he could care less about that.

The smiling face of none other than his younger brother greeted him and Ed had half a mind to punch himself and check if he was dreaming, " _Wha…wh….what the HELL are you DOING here?!"_ he roughly pulled at Al's shirt collar, slamming the door shut so that not the whole building would hear him.

Alphonse, as always, had the perfect angelic expression on his face, even as he held up a very familiar looking acceptance form in his hands, " _I took the exams and passed brother! I'm a soldier in training too now, just like you!_ " he grinned brightly, " _But I'll specialize in the medical department, so we don't really have so many classes together, but that's okay, we have the core ones together, we can sit next to each-other and by the way, I'm your roommate-_ "

Ed violently screamed his ear off, " _WHAT THE FUCK ALPHONSE YOU DON'T JUST APPLY TO JOIN THE MILITARY JUST TO FOLLOW YOUR BIG BROTHER! I TOLD YOU TO STAY HOME!"_ Ed's face was red, he was sure his blood pressure was skyrocketing right now but he didn't care, he snatched the papers from his brother's hands, " _Gimme those! Maybe it's not too late to destroy them or withdraw!"_ he was about to march out of his room until a strong hand on his forearm made him freeze in his tracks.

Al's bangs covered his eyes and his brother's uncharacteristically serious voice reached his ears, " _Brother…please listen. I applied to the military to keep an eye on you and protect you and to stop people dear to me from being killed or hurt by this war,"_ when Ed slowly turned his head to look at his brother, Alphonse had a hard, determined look in his eyes, " _Mei is living in this country too. We both still live in this country, along with our friends. Dad is also somewhere still in Amestris, maybe."_ Ed snorted at that, who the hell cared about that old geezer? " _What I'm trying to say is, I'm not going to hide and wait at home while you're out there risking your life brother! It's either together or not at all!"_

Ed weighed his options.

Since he was already a few months here, it would be difficult to leave. Alphonse was still fresh from the exams, maybe they would allow a withdrawal. On one hand, he would suffer his brother's rare but very lethal wrath should he attempt to destroy his application documents, on the other hand, he would kill himself before he allowed his brother to walk head-first into danger.

He stared at his younger brother, noticing how his chin looked sharp and slightly angular, his eyes a little more slanted but still rounder and bigger than his own ones, his cheeks having lost their baby fat years ago. His brother was smart, on par with his own intelligence, he may abhor violence but they've occasionally engaged in sparring sessions, courtesy of their very strict, crazy martial arts teacher, purely for self defense purposes and for learning something new and useful. After all, getting mugged in the street wasn't such an uncommon occurrence as some were led to believe.

Ed finally opened his mouth, " _Since you'll be the medic, I'll be the first to shoot any bastards dead before you go anywhere near the warzone. If somebody sneaks up on you, you'll scream my name or beat the shit out of him with your fancy medical bag or equipment or whatever. If you get injured, I repeat_ _ **if**_ _, I'll call for a chopper and you'll be sent back to Central. I don't care if it's a freaking scratch, if you're hurt you're calling it quits-"_

 _"_ _Thank you brother!"_ Alphonse launched himself with full force at his stunned sibling, whom got cut off mid-sentence and had just enough time to keep them both from stumbling to the floor.

" _H-hey, easy there, alright, alright already,"_ he patted his brother on the back, sighing heavily.

What did he do to deserve this?

But Alphonse's eyes were gleaming in excitement, " _I promise you I'll be careful if you're careful too. Since I'm the medic it's my job to heal any injuries you get and if I say you're too injured to fight, you won't try to fight in the next battle, got it?"_ he smirked.

Ed scratched the back of his neck, chuckling, " _Don't forget, I'm the older brother, I gotta protect you,"_

Alphonse smiled, " _Yeah and I'm the younger brother, I have to make sure you're good enough to protect me,"_ he winked, laughing at the stunned look on his brother's face.

Ed blinked, for the first time asking himself since when his little brother grew up and with a fond look, he decided, that maybe the military wouldn't be so bad with his brother by his side.

* * *

His head was killing him.

He felt the familiar, heavy weight of his prosthetic leg as the bed sank deeper under that limb, but he failed to feel the almost reassuring weight of his artificial arm.

And finally, his eyes opened only groggily, the light nearly blinding him when he opened them fully.

It took him far longer than necessary to get to his senses and recognize his surroundings, and when he saw the obvious signs of tearing, namely the loosely hanging, half-ripped cables hanging off of the place where his automail limb was supposed to be, he groaned.

What the _hell_ happened?

His mind was a maze, thousands of thoughts leading to so many things his brain failed to keep track of and ending up lost.

He saw he was in a small tent, alone, a medical kit resting next to his makeshift bed, consisting of a blanket and a rolled-up tent under his head.

Rubbing at the ache in the back of his neck from his uncomfortable position, a sudden jarring memory made him freeze up.

Gluttony.

They had been fighting Gluttony.

The sick man had actually _eaten_ the bodies of dead soldiers.

The sick man had nearly eaten _him._

Ed froze, hands slowly moving up his chest to hesitantly feel around his neck, making out the indentations where Gluttony's teeth had pressed a little too hard against his skin, even underneath the bandage that Al most likely applied.

And he realized he was covered in bandages. His shoulder was bandaged and he felt the ache pulse within his muscles, like a beating heart and he remembered he nearly dislocated it when he tried escaping from Gluttony.

Shivers raced up and down his spine, like small needless poking him everywhere at once and Ed rubbed at his neck frantically to get rid of the feeling.

This wasn't the first time he laid injured in a tent, certainly not the last, it wasn't the first time his life had been threatened either, but…this had been a very different battle.

It hadn't been a battle to eliminate enemies and make sure you and your comrades survived for the next big fight.

It had been a literal fight for his _life_. Fighting something else other than just a normal soldier or machines and guns. Gluttony hadn't been a normal man.

Gluttony had _eaten_ dead humans and he had attempted to eat them too. He had bodily enhancements like Greed, due to the serum, he could digest human flesh without consequences, he had an insatiable physical hunger like Greed had a nearly insatiable hunger, though of a different kind, for all sorts of things (his name fit him very much so).

He shouldn't have underestimated Gluttony. He had gone and done a fucking _rookie_ mistake and judged the enemy by mental strength and appearance. While Gluttony may look dimwitted and slow due to his obese build, he was fast on his feet, had brutal physical strength and even agile when he was 'hungry'.

The familiar but unwelcome feeling of nausea hit him again and he had the suspicion it hadn't been the first time in over forty-eight hours that he had the strong urge to empty his stomach.

Slowly getting up to a sitting position, Ed used the standing wooden beam holding up the tent as a support, lacking the counterweight to balance his body out with the lack of an arm. It felt…odd, it had been a while since he went without his limb replacement and it made him slightly uneasy, as if an attack could happen any moment and he had no mechanic who could fix him up quick enough.

His feet were wobbly from being in a laying position for a longer time, but he felt confident enough to make it outside.

With careful steps, Ed managed to pull away the flap of the tent covering the entrance and he was met with dozens of pairs of eyes.

He reeled back, yelping, nearly destroying the makeshift tent that he had just slept in, "W-wha, what the hell?!" he blinked, rubbing at his eyes and sure enough, his own team, Mustang and his unit, along with their remaining troopers were all looking at him.

Some were bug eyed, as if not expecting him to be up and walking again. Others were worried and surprised, maybe because he looked pathetic and felt like it too, or maybe because he had woken up sooner than any of them expected. And some faces looked…pissed. Most notably Greed's.

"Fullmetal," his eyes turned to Roy, "It's good to see you on your feet," his words were soft and sounded genuine and Ed reluctantly suppressed the urge to offer a biting, sarcastic retort, in lieu he nodded his head, his own words softer than usually.

"Yeah…thanks," Roy scoffed softly, as if something amused him.

"Are you sure you're alright to walk, brother?" Al's doctor eyes scanned him from head to toe and it made Ed stingy, being seized up like some insect up for inspecting.

"Hey, don't give me those analyzing doctor eyes, Al. I'm fine," he bit his lip, " _Kinda,"_ his thoughts seemed to echo his stance, because his knees felt like they were about to give out.

Maybe he even looked like he was about to collapse, because Alphonse pulled on his arm and made him sit on the small log he had previously occupied. He must have felt the nearly effortless way in which Ed allowed his body weight to hit the wood, out of sheer exhaustion, because he frowned in concern.

"How…long was I out for?" he gave each of his friends and comrades a look.

It was Ling, seated next to Greed, who answered quietly, looking exhausted, "A week and a half,"

Ed swallowed thickly, "…A whole week? Damn," he rubbed at his eyes, "I'll need to call a mechanic to get me fixed up," he stared at his nonexistent prosthetic pointedly but Al intervened.

"Don't worry, we already called for a mechanic, he should be in by tomorrow," Ed nodded, thankful for at least _one_ good news.

"Alright…what…what happened?" he rubbed a hand over his face, feeling nauseas all over again when he remembered Gluttony and his big, bloody teeth, "What happened after…after Gluttony attacked me?"

There was a loud crunching sound and when he turned his head to look what it was, he found a not so small stick clutched tightly in Greed's hand, broken in miniature pieces, the thick wood standing no chance against Greed's pure strength, _without_ the shield.

He was _pissed_ , "Tch, whaddya think? We knocked him out, locked him up again," he scoffed, eyes hardening, "Interrogated the little shit all night, hasn't said anything I didn't already know." Greed shared a look with Roy suddenly and sighed, "We suspect the other _family_ members didn't tell him anything of their plans, I'm not surprised either. Gluttony's not the sharpest tool in the box, if you bait him enough in his pacified state, he may blubber up a thing or two," Greed shrugged, looking as weary as he sounded, "He knows nothing, may as well kill him,"

Ed frowned, suddenly getting flashbacks from a particular lesson in his academy days, "What if…what if we left him alive…" at the affronted looks on some of his friends faces, Ed quickly elaborated, "But…got him on our side somehow? It's not uncommon for captured soldiers to have a change of heart after a while," he remembered the forms of psychological torture again.

Greed gave him an enraged, dark look, "…Did those painkillers mess with your head? Listen kid, that monster doesn't _have_ a heart, I highly doubt you can convince one of the dumbest beings to exist on earth to switch sides. Besides, he is closest to Lust and he would never think of betraying her. He would rather die,"

Ed sighed, "You…you said his…energy…reserves or…that serum thingy…" Ed gripped his head, "Ugh, the reason for his inhuman powers…you said it's fully charged, right?"

Greed suddenly gave a very disturbing, very bloodthirsty grin, "Well…I would say it's about reduced to half since my last visit," he grinned, flexing his wrist.

Ed didn't even want to know how Greed took care of that, "Hey uh…I…I need to make a call," he stood on wobbly legs, shaking his head at his brother who moved to help him and offering him a small smile, slowly making his way to the other tents and hopefully to a still functioning phone.

"A call? Now?" Roy rose an eyebrow, "Who could he possibly call now?"

Al rubbed his chin, "Good question…" he stared at his brother's back, thinking.

" _Hello! Rockbell's Automail Shop, how may I help you today?"_ a chirpy, familiar female voice answered and briefly, it made Ed feel better.

"Hey…it's me, Edward," he cringed slightly when he heard the surprised and sharp intake of breath.

It was no surprise really, he hadn't contacted her for weeks, for all she knew, he was as good as dead, " _E-Ed? You…"_ there was a relieved, hopeful tone to her voice and his heart lifted, felt lighter. Maybe comforting words was just what he needed-" _YOU INCOMPETENT, INSESITIVE JERK!"_ came the sudden loud screech that made his ears bleed and Ed hastily pulled the damaged phone away from his ear.

His temper, the same short fuse he thought he had long since abandoned, resurfaced again, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING INSENSITIVE JERK?! Cut me some slack would ya?!" he shouted right back, not caring if anyone heard him. Funny, he hadn't mentioned the bit where she called him incompetent…then again, if he let himself get injured like this, she wasn't far off.

Winry wouldn't let up too it seemed, " _WHY SHOULD I?! YOU DIDN'T CALL FOR WEEKS YOU IDIOT! I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAPPENED! GREED DIDN'T CALL EITHER AND LENA IS PREPARING TO GO ON A KILLING SPREE! TELL HIM TO CALL HER AS SOON AS HE CAN!"_ there was a moment of silence, enough for Ed's ears to stop ringing, until it felt like his ear drums finally shattered when Winry spoke again, " _I WAS WORRIED YOU STUPID JERK! I-I THOUGHT YOU GOT INJURED OR-OR DIED OR SOMETHING! YOU CAN'T JUST NOT TELL YOUR FRIENDS WHAT'S GOING ON!"_ there was so much hurt in her voice that it broke Ed's heart.

Feeling his throat clogging up, Ed coughed, trying to calm down his own emotions, "H-hey…Winry, listen I…" he took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair, "It's…been rough, the past few weeks. We…we got attacked last night or err…a week and a half ago, it was a close call. I just woke up after the attack, I was out for a week and a half." He bit his lip at the silence, "Another sin attacked us, this time it was Gluttony. We got him locked up…somewhere, but we aren't sure for how long that's going to work. We still need to make a plan and see where it gets us," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Winry was uncharacteristically silent on the other line, a feat Ed was sure he would never achieve, at least not by his own doing, since she seemed so intent on screaming at him.

He understood her, if he found out one of his friends were in a haphazard warzone and didn't give a sign of life for several weeks he would also fear the worst. He couldn't blame her, really, he couldn't.

And then, Winry finally spoke, her voice was quiet, shaky, " _…Were you injured?"_

Ed hung his head, "…Not really. My…ahm, I got a scratch, nothing bad," he looked down at the vacant spot where his artificial limb was supposed to be attached, "Al looked me over, I'm fine, or going to be," he cleared his throat, "How are you? …I'm sorry I didn't call," his foot was nervously tapping on the ground as every second passed.

For some reason, it almost felt foreign to apologize. Not that Ed never apologized for anything, it felt weird saying it with so much emotion. He was genuinely sorry, sorry for making her so worried, sorry for probably worrying the rest of his friends, sorry for actually _caring_ so much to be even thinking this.

He thought she hung up, but he was surprised when she finally spoke again, " _I'm…okay. Business is doing good, the others are worried though. Riza said reinforcements were on their way, they…um, they should be there either today or tomorrow."_ Ed breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, they seriously needed more firepower right now, " _Ed…"_ he perked up, his throat dry, waiting, " _I'm…sorry too for shouting at you. You just woke up from a coma and I'm here screaming your head off,"_ she laughed a little and he couldn't help but chuckle too, at the absurdity of the situation, " _I guess I just went a little overboard with worrying…"_

He didn't notice how husky his voice had gotten, "Be worried all you want, Winry," he smiled, it felt good saying it, as if she had a right to worry, to worry about him.

He grinned when she started stuttering, " _Um, well, i-it's, I mean, it's not like I'm worrying about you all the time, I have stuff to do too, you know? I can't work properly if I worry about you all the time, I have to mentor Aaron,"_ Who was Aaron?, " _I have to take care of my clients and my friends and help granny build a new automail model as a hip replacement, I still need to do grocery shopping-"_ he suddenly burst out laughing, immediately regretting it when he felt his body wobble unsteadily.

"You crack me up, Winry. Grocery shopping? That's the best you got?" he smirked, "Since when is food more important than a _friend_?"

Winry, it seemed, didn't share his sentiments, " _Since it keeps me alive, genius. I mean, I could try to eat you but that would be a difficult task,"_ he could hear the humorous undertone and couldn't help but tease.

"Are you calling me fat, Ms. Rockbell?" he was sure he had a shit-eating grin on his face.

She couldn't believe they went from worrying over the war and his health to weight jokes, " _I most certainly am, Mr. Elric,"_ she giggled and it stroked Ed's ego slightly, " _Please Ed, take a good rest before you do something stupid. I'm sure Alphonse would agree with me too,"_

Ed felt unnaturally flustered, "Yeah…uhm, you too," he internally cursed for the slip up but relaxed when Winry laughed.

" _Call again soon Ed, take care,"_ Ed bid her goodbye back and the line went dead again as he hung up.

He sighed, heavily, he felt lighter and heavier at the same time and he was sure it didn't make sense.

He ran a hand over his face, looking up at the, for once, clear sky.

Wait…

Eyes wide, he raced back to where the tent was he had stayed in, everyone else still gathered next to it, "Mustang!"

Roy turned his head, "What is it, Fullmetal?" he rose an eyebrow expectantly.

Ed pointed upward at the sky, "Where are we? The sky is blue, it's _clear_ ," his gaze narrowed, "Did we move after the attack? Last I remember, we were in the middle of another snowstorm not far from Briggs,"

Roy cleared his throat, "We did…we thought due to the casualties we had, staying in colder climate may not be the best idea,"

Ed mercilessly bonked him on the head with his automail _foot_ , "Ouch, what the-!"

"You're an _idiot_ , Mustang!" Ed's eyes were a blazing inferno of gold, "We were close to Drachma's next base, we could have launched an ambush as soon as I recovered, what the hell bit you in the ass and made you even dumber than you were?"

Roy stood up now, towering over the furious man, his dark eyes serious, all humor gone, "You're the idiot if you think I'll risk the lives of my men and comrades because of our position over the enemy," Ed's expression faltered, "We'll head out after the mechanic reattaches your arm," he glanced at the torn cables hanging out of Edward's shoulder, "After all, we wouldn't want an incompetent soldier who doesn't know how to take care of himself ruining our chances at getting one over the enemy, _do we_?" his gaze narrowed.

Ed's hand curled around the collar of Roy's uniform and he brought him down to his height, only slightly smaller than Roy's own, "If you want to fight, fine, I don't need my other arm to wipe the floor with you," the fire was back in his eyes, "Listen General Useless, I know what you're trying to do, but I _know_." He sighed and released his superior, "…I know it was my fault that Gluttony freed himself. I know it's my fault we relocated for nothing and- _ouch!_ " a firm fist slammed down onto the top of his head, enough to jolt him, but not hurt particularly bad.

He glared daggers at Roy, who had his arms crossed and a disapproving frown on his face once he straightened, "After all these years in the military, you disappoint me now, Fullmetal. Gluttony's escape had nothing to do with your incompetence, it had to do with lack of information about the prisoner," he shot a quick, slightly peeved look at Greed, who had the decency to look sheepish, "And with bad luck."

Ed snorted, "I thought you didn't believe in back luck,"

Roy smirked, "I thought I didn't believe in demons, but here we are with the seven deadly sins out for our necks," he shared a wry smirk with Greed, who shook his head.

" _Six_ ," Greed grinned lazily, waving a hand and Roy smirked.

He nodded affirmatively, "Right, six. Dire times call for desperate measures Fullmetal, mistakes may be inconvenient but they're inevitable," after a while, Roy smirked, "Besides, our current location offers us a unforeseen advantage,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? What would that be?"

Roy's smirk grew and he tightened his gloves over his hands, "The element of surprise. They don't know our location, reinforcements are on the way and we can plan our next course of action without having to fear being spotted quite yet," he turned around to address a quartet of foot soldiers, "Have you scouted the area?"

A shorter woman saluted briefly and nodded, "Yes sir, the area seems to be clear,"

Roy nodded once and turned his attention to Al and Ling, "Once everyone received medical attention, take a long rest, you deserved it," both men nodded, directing their team to check up on the still injured soldiers a little ways ahead.

"And you," lastly, he turned to Greed, "I want to know everything connected to the sins and how to beat them, their strengths and what their purpose is. Tell us everything Greed," Greed stared at his superior for a moment before nodding solemnly, violet eyes narrowing in concentration as the core teams of Mustang and Ed gathered around to sit.

"Alright, story time I guess," Greed frowned and took a breath, crossing his arms as memories flashed before his mind's eye, "I guess you could say it began in Dublith…"

* * *

" _SHINEEE!"_ Winry and Mei watched as Lena rampaged through her house, pillows and a stray blanket or two, and curiously enough, Greed's shirt and pants, which looked suspiciously singed, were littered all around the rooms. Lena herself was slamming her fists against the punching bag that was nearly twice her size and Winry flinched every time the loud slap resonated through the room when Lena's unprotected fists met the firm bag.

Winry whispered lowly to Mei, "What is she saying Mei?" she glanced down at the smaller Xingese woman.

Mei sighed, "She's swearing in Xingese," she winced at a particularly loud colorful word, "And she wants Greed to die,"

Winry swallowed thickly and started to walk slowly toward her friend, "W-why don't we all calm down and-" Lena's furious eyes were nearly black when she rounded on Winry, who took a step back and subtly hid behind Mei, who was known for her previous martial arts career in Xing.

Mei sighed, "I understand your anger Lena but um, maybe they didn't have any functioning communication devices and-"

"THEN HOW THE FUCK DID ED CALL WINRY?! HUH?! NO DEVICE MY FOOT! IS GREED TOO MUCH OF A SHITHEAD TO STEAL HIS PHONE AND CALL HIS WORRIED-FOR-NOTHING GIRLFRIEND?!" she delivered a high roundhouse kick to the punching bag with an enraged shout and when she landed on her feet she was bouncing on them nervously, seizing the poor punching bag as if it were the source of all her anger, "That damned bastard, not calling, not saying 'Hey babe, I'm okay', nothing!" she delivered a powerful uppercut, "I don't care anymore! He should burn in hell! I'll find another man!" she delivered furious punches in quick succession, making even Mei worried if her skin was starting to blister and peel from the harsh impacts.

Winry shook her head and carefully stepped out from behind her temporary human shield, raising her hands placatingly in the air, "I'm sure he had his reasons Lena, Ed said they were under attack from one of the sins, I'm sure they're still trying to figure everything out. Greed will call you as soon as he can,"

Lena's shoulders were shaking with barely suppressed anger, with exertion from her punches and her quick, unfocused breaths.

To be honest, both women understood her perfectly, "I understand Lena, if Alphonse were to do something like that, I would be angry too," Mei said sympathetically, sighing. Winry nodded in agreement.

The brunette's head suddenly shot up and Winry worried she might get whiplash, "Wait…Al sends you messenger hawks, doesn't he?" Mei nodded slowly, "Why can't my idiot of a boyfriend send me birds too?! What the hell is his problem?!" she grit her teeth, falling heavily on her couch.

Winry and Mei shared a look and neither of them needed words to understand what each of them thought, ' _Because you both have anger issues and would one day strangle the poor thing,'_

Mei sighed and sat next to her enraged friend, patting her shoulder, "Suggest it to him next time and maybe it will work, besides, you can trust Greed and Alphonse and everyone else, they won't die so easily,"

Lena leaned back and sighed, long and hard, and the exhale seemed to have taken away most of her anger. She was still frowning and her arms were still tightly crossed over her heaving chest, but at least she didn't look like she would kill anyone anytime soon.

Winry stiffened when Lena turned her head toward her, eyes narrowed, "What did you say about a sin?"

Quickly remembering their conversation, Winry replied uneasily, "Uhm, the s-sin that attacked them," she bit her lip, "Ed said something about being attacked by Gluttony,"

She watched the way Lena's eyes widened and she swore she saw fear in them, _real_ fear.

"Shit…" Lena swore softly under her breath, her hands shaking against her knees, "Gluttony's a monster, they couldn't have gotten away without any bruises, they-" she sucked in a breath, "Damn, I don't know! Greed never told me anything except how dangerous they were! But, but it doesn't take a genius to know what they are or what-what powers they have right?!" she looked at her two friends, "I-I mean Gluttony…what, did he try to eat them?! That can't be right," she buried her face in her hands helplessly and Mei gently rubbed her back.

The Xingese woman frowned worriedly, her own heart racing at the new information, "Let's search him up,"

Winry blinked, "What?"

Mei's gaze was steel, "Let's research all about the seven deadly sins, maybe there are similarities. We can check in with Greed for confirmation, I'm sure he was forced to tell everyone about them," she bit her bottom lip, her shaking hands betraying her own emotional state, "Let's visit the State Military library,"

Winry's eyes flew open in shock, "What?! But how? I'm not sure outsiders are allowed in there,"

Lena suddenly cracked her knuckles with a sneer, "I'll _make_ them give us permission,"

Mei sighed, "Guys, remember where _Riza_ works again?"

Both women looked at each-other and had the decency to blush in embarrassment, Lena fiddled with her fingers, "Oh…right…" she cleared her throat, "Sorry, still angry over the whole Greed fiasco," she sighed and hissed when she squeezed her hands, spotting bloody, destroyed skin on her knuckles, "Aw, great, my students will kill me,"

Mei smiled brightly, "Come on, we can't lose anymore time! Just because we're stuck here and not fighting there doesn't mean we can slack off!" Mei suddenly grabbed the two women by the arm and dragged them after her sprinting form with surprising strength for her smaller stature.

Winry felt her wrist could get dislocated, "W-Wait! What about my shop?!"

Mei's voice was as carefree as her bubbly personality, "Call your assistant and tell him to stay longer!" Lena blinked in surprise at the smaller woman's resolve.

Slowly, a smirk spread over the martial artist teacher's lips, "What do you know, our little Mei can be pretty resolute, huh?" she grinned, suddenly feeling a bit better, "Well, can't deny the facts!" she shoved her hand into her pocket while trying to keep up with her friend's running pace, "Call the boy blondie, we are hitting the books!" Winry caught it in the air just in time, frowning at both of her arms as she tugged hard at their joined hands.

" _Stop!"_ Mei came to a jarring halt, nearly causing Lena to stumble into her and Winry to lose her balance, "We have a _car_ remember?" she looked at each of them and motioned toward Lena's car in the backyard.

Mei grinned sheepishly, "Sorry…" she smiled, heading for the car, "We can't lose much time!"

Lena grinned and fished for her keys while jogging to her vehicle, "You know, I think Ling is a good influence on you Mei!" she shouted while getting into the driver's seat excitedly, "Bet Al likes the bossy attitude under the sheets, huh?"

Mei's cheeks glowed brilliantly as she tried to hide her face, " _L-Lena!_ "

Winry tried to desperately tune out the rest of the conversation as the young male voice answered her, " _Hello? Who is this?"_

Winry cringed, "Ah, hey Aaron! It's me Winry, ah, listen I'll need to run some errands for today so would you maybe mind staying for just a bit longer and close up shop?" she glanced back toward the playfully bickering pair in the car, "I think it's going to take me all day,"

There was some shuffling from the other side and the voice of a irritated customer that made Winry worry, before Aaron's voice took over again, " _R-right, no problem Miss Winry! Um, but, this isn't your number,"_

The blonde sighed heavily, "Yeah….don't ever call this number Aaron, okay?"

The young student made a confused noise, " _Uh…w-why? Is something wrong? Are you in danger?"_ the urgency and worry in his tone was sweet but Winry couldn't imagine what would happen if Aaron were to call Lena one day. The devious woman could tell him all sorts of twisted things if she were in a good mood.

"No, no, no! It's perfectly safe, I just ah…just don't call this number okay?!" she hoped her stern order would repel the man to listen to her and it did judging by the nervous spluttering.

 _"_ _A-a-a-alright, m-mmiss Winry I w-won't I promise!"_ she felt guilty for making Aaron so nervous to make him stutter, but what needed to be done, needed to be done.

"Good, see you tomorrow at work Aaron." She cringed at the loud sound of a honking car and a customer's enraged shout, "Good luck…"

She hang up before she heard the end of Aaron's agonized, high pitched squeak, most probably from the enraged customer throwing something at him, before she turned around and walked toward the car, sliding in the backseat.

She handed Lena her phone and leaned forward between the two women, "Alright, settled," she watched Mei's curiously red face and Lena's shit-eating grin, "Let's just get to Riza before we do any collateral damage," she eyed the way Lena's hands were eagerly flexing on the steering wheel and it made her stomach churn, "…Why don't I drive? I'm sure you're tired from your punching session Lena,"

 _'_ _More like killing spree,'_ she added mentally but the brunette shook her head quickly.

"Nope! In fact, I could use a good drive!" the grin on her face was too wide and maniacal to be considered sane to drive and Winry fastened both seatbelts across her torso as a precaution.

Mei fastened her seatbelt and wrapped her arms around her head, "Okay, we are ready to go!"

Lena's jaw dropped in shock, "H-Hey! I'm not bad at driving, what's the big idea?!" she looked back and forth between Winry and Mei.

Winry deadpanned, "You're a suicidal driver, not a bad driver,"

"What's the difference?! _"_ Lena shouted over her shoulder.

Mei squirmed in her seat nervously, "One wants to get killed and the other doesn't but can't help it,"

Winry was sure they would need to make a detour to the hospital if the glare Lena sent them was any indication of the way she would be driving today: murderously.

* * *

The library was quiet, save for the tell-tale rustling of paper as the shorter woman flipped the pages over the thick books tirelessly.

Sheska had already accumulated over twenty-five books but had no real breakthrough yet.

Riza had coded her the current situation at the border with the Homunculi, so she had set to work. Danny and Maria were stationed just outside the doors, nobody should be able to sneak up while she was researching confidential information.

As far as she learned, there were many theories revolving around the creation of the first sins, among them the name 'Homunculus' fell, but no real historical records have ever been created.

No real supporting evidence could be found in the science books either, " _What if I search in the other books instead?"_ she quickly rushed toward a section she used to visit more often in her youth: the mythology section.

Usually it was said to be myths, scientifically unsupported and thus, deemed insignificant in her line of work in the State Military, however in this particular case, it just may be of help.

Her fingers found the thickest book she could find and she quickly scanned its contents, her finger rapidly tracing down each chapter title.

 _Drachmanian Myths_

 _Aerugian Legends_

 _Xerxes_

 _Amestrian Gods_

Her finger froze on the next title.

 _Seven deadly sins_

It was a big chapter, there was bound to be _something_ of use there. She flipped open the correct page and she immediately stumbled upon various pictures of partly demonic-looking creatures, each marked with descriptions underneath.

One looked like a black-reddish fire ball with disformed eyes and a mouth, underneath it was the small paragraph.

 _The sin of greed, believed to have existed since the existence of men, but after the sin of pride. Like lust and gluttony, it is a sin of desire. It is the sin said to be the origin of all evil along with the sin of arrogance, pride._

Sheska rose an eyebrow as she quickly jotted down notes on her notebook, " _After the sin of pride? So pride existed before any of them? How is that possible? Someone must have created them after all,"_ following this books logic, where humanity was created by a single entity, the sins must have originated from somewhere as well.

They couldn't have materialized out of thin air, after all.

Sheska continued on reading.

* * *

 ** _Translation:_**

 ** _Shine - die (Japanese)_**

 ** _Inspiration: Katsuki Bakugou (My Hero Academia) XD_**

 **Thanks for reading! See you in the next chap! :)**


	32. Lessons in History

**A/N:** Hello everyone! Apologies for taking so long to update, my exams are finally over (today was the last day – _yes!_ ) so I'll be able to update quicker. I'm sorry this chapter was so short and "uneventful" compared to the others, but I wanted to purely focus on things happening outside the battlefront, so this came up ^^.

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **AutomailSucker:** Aw, thank you so much for the sweet compliments, I always enjoy reading your reviews :3 Well…Ed does use drugs to help keep him awake (among enhancing his stamina temporarily but I'll explain that later) :D

 **Pfeh:** Hehe thanks a bunch! I missed writing about 'non-battle' related things so I switched it up, I may do it more often since I've been primarily focusing on the war up until now.

 **Guest:** Thank you for telling me! But would you mind tell me which inconsistencies? I re-read my previous chapters but I just can't find the errors .

 **Katurdi:** THANK YOU! Your review really made me very happy! Ah, I get so enthusiastic! :3 I'll try not to drag out the plot too long so they can finally meet a bit sooner (wrote up a few chapters on their first meeting, I think they aren't half bad ^^)

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Lessons in History**

 _To hide the tree, use a forest._

Gracia Hughes was known to be a patient, calm woman, one had to be when her husband was the eccentric, over-the-top Maes Hughes after all. However, even she had her shortcomings.

And she hated doing this through the phone too, "Darling, shouldn't you be concentrating on your surroundings? I can hear Roy screaming in the background," she twirled the cord of her phone around her finger, sighing and smiling in amusement when she heard the familiar voice of her husband's best friend shout at said man, "I'm sure it's something important, we can talk later,"

" _But Gracia! This is important too! DO you have any more photos of you and our precious Elicia? I'll phone in on Riza and ask her to send the mail faster! I haven't had an updated picture of the cutest wife and daughter in the world in months!"_ Maes' voice was whiny and high pitched, like it always got whenever he was talking about them, and no matter how that, in very rare cases, made her slightly less patient, she could never stay mad at this man.

Gracia giggled, resting a hand on her cheek to try and control the blush she always got whenever Maes gushed so fondly about her, "Oh you, it's only been a few weeks since I sent that last photograph and you know it," she covered her mouth, smiling, "I'm sure you've showed all of those pictures to everyone there at the border,"

While not quite as aggressive as her husband, Gracia herself had to admit she was always proud when she showed the family photos to her friends, especially hearing how great her husband was, both appearance and personality-wise.

But she always made sure she looked at them, every day, especially at the one of Maes.

Maes' voice brought her to reality again, ripped away from past memories, " _Gracia?"_ her husband's serious, concerned voice startled her slightly and she shook her head at herself.

She laughed lightly, "It's nothing dear, I was just lost in memories," she tried to smile, even though he wasn't physically here, he could always tell when she wasn't.

Like now.

" _Bad ones? You're sad,"_ she bit her lip and her hand clenched in her lap.

"I'm sorry Maes…it's nothing bad I promise. I was just remembering the happy memories when Elicia was just a baby and you were home," she could feel the tears pricking at her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. Once they did, she usually needed time to stop them, time she didn't want to waste on that.

Maes scoffed softly on the other line, seemingly expecting this from his strong wife, " _You were always the strong one in our relationship you know that."_ Then his playful tone returned, " _Well, I suppose somebody has to be, right? With an old goof like me around!"_ Maes laughed, boisterous and loud and Gracia giggled when she faintly heard Roy's enraged, muffled shout from somewhere distant to where Maes was.

"If you're an old goof, then what am I?" she smiled, touching her face, marveling at the ability of her husband to always cheer her up, "Promise me you will try to eat as healthy as you can, you have to relocate near a river or stream to wash your clothes and try to always have back-up in case something happens, don't let them corner you." _Don't forget who's waiting for you at home._ She almost wanted to say out loud, but refrained from doing so.

Her hands were trembling slightly by the time Maes answered again, his voice sincere and serious, " _A beautiful woman that doesn't deserve, just like always my darling Gracia."_ He chuckled then, " _Yes, ma'am! I'll try to heed your orders to the best of my ability! For now, I'll have to get off the line before Roy gets a seizure, you know, old age and the like,"_

Gracia heard an enraged shout, followed by a loud thud and her husband's slightly nervous voice, " _Uh, looks like the dragon is out of it's den, I'll hear you soon Gracia! Make sure to hug and kiss Elicia from me!"_ with that, he ended the call, the last thing she heard was Roy's louder, clearer voice shout in rage, ' _For the hundredth time you delusional fool, we're the same age! And I'm not a dragon!'_

Gracia smiled softly, setting the receiver down. She looked at her hands, still trembling slightly in her lap.

She knew Maes was a good soldier, one of the best, Roy was there with him, his whole team, all soldiers of the highest caliber, she knew that too, still, he was her husband, she worried, it was only natural.

Especially considering the nature of this war against Drachma. It was a public secret that King Bradley and Borya had a personal agenda to follow, more so due to their opposing beliefs and interests in claiming more territory, but…

Gracia rubbed her cheek worriedly, staring at the phone. She didn't know much, as it should be with a soldier's spouse, but even she knew her husband was tangled up in something that wasn't privy to the Führer's knowledge, something Maes and Roy were secretly investigating, and to an extend Riza as well.

All she knew was that in may play a big role in the war and just may turn the tides for them, but what would happen until then? Would soldiers come storming into Amestris? Would homes be destroyed and people killed or driven out of their houses?

Gracia stiffened when she felt a small hand on her own but relaxed as soon as she saw it was her adorable daughter, "My, my Elicia, you scared me," she smiled, patting her daughter's head, "What's wrong sweetie? I thought you were sleeping,"

Elicia looked slightly troubled and she looked at the phone, "Did you talk to daddy on the phone?" her eyes were sad and it broke Gracia's heart.

She rubbed her head soothingly, "Yes, dear, I'm sorry I would have called for you but daddy didn't have time," she understood Elicia's pain, hers was just as great if not greater. A family torn because of personal decisions was one thing, but one forcibly parted from one another was gruesome, especially if the military is involved.

She vividly remembered the day just before Maes was called to the front lines, it had been past midnight as they lay in their bed, talking.

Maes had never looked so serious, " _Gracia, I want you to listen very carefully,"_ her husband had leaned away from her to retrieve something from the bedside table.

Gracia had sat up worriedly, not used to her normally cheerful husband's grave voice, " _…Maes? What's wrong darling?"_

When he turned toward her, something cold and heavy was pressed into her hand and when Gracia, even in the darkness they were in, looked down at the object in her hand, her blood froze in her veins. Maes looked thoughtful, his eyes sad, as if he had lived a hundred lifetime's instead of his young life until now, " _…You still remember the shooting lessons from a few years ago, right? And you self-defense courses?"_ his larger, warmer hand, such a stark contrast to the metal in her palm, closed over the gun, wrapping her hand around it securely, " _Soldiers often have enemies in the weirdest places, it could be anyone, from our next-door-neighbor to the food vendor down the street. All I ask is that you take precautions when I'm not here,"_ at her silent hesitation, he added, " _Please…"_

Gracia's hand had trembled, she remembered, the cold metal in her hand had felt so foreign, like an alien matter, " _Maes…please,"_ she didn't know what she had been pleading for, but she had to say it.

Her husband seemed to have understood her as he put the gun away and wrapped his arms around his wife, " _I could never forgive myself if something happened to you or Elicia while I'm not here, I already feel like a good-for-nothing husband and father for abandoning you just like this, especially since Elicia is still so young but…"_ he had brushed her hair away from her face, wet with her tears, " _I promise I'll return, even if it's in a wheelchair,"_ she didn't want to hear it then, but she knew she had to.

 _"_ _You'll hate me, and I won't blame you when that happens, you'll hate me for giving you this life instead of a normal one where we can live peacefully."_ He had paused, as if thinking over his next words, " _But…life isn't peaceful, even if I wasn't a soldier, it would continue to be that way. But, now that I am, I can change the outcome, I can help make it peaceful again, for you and for our daughter,"_ he had smiled so softly at her and it had taken everything in her not to break down and cry, " _Gracia…my dear Gracia…I'm so sorry,"_

She would never forget the feeling of helplessness she had felt then, that night, for being unable to do anything but weep in her husband's arms, weep for him, weep for their daughter, weep for herself. " _I could never hate you Maes, if it's another life I don't want it. I want this life with you and only you, and I'll forever be grateful that we have each-other and Elicia. I…know how important your job is to you, I understand you have to help Roy get to the top to change King Bradley's regime but…"_ the tears she had tried holding back had finally spilled over her cheeks, " _Please don't forget what you have left behind and…what…what you're staying alive for, please…"_

As she hugged her daughter tightly to herself, she remembered how tightly Maes had held her that night, before he had left in the morning.

She also remembered the chilling feeling of the cold, empty bed when she had awoken that day.

* * *

Hours had passed since she had first started, piles of books stacked into towers on the table and the floor around her, her nose buried in another thick book.

A steaming mug of coffee suddenly blocked the words she was about to read and Sheska blinked rapidly, vision blurring for a moment from starring at books all the time.

A soft smile and kind brown eyes met her vision, it was Riza, "I thought you might need a little help and a bit of motivation," Sheska gingerly set the book down and accepted the mug of coffee, smiling when she found Riza had added more milk than coffee in it, just how she liked it. Her eyes nearly sparkled at the considerate gesture.

She stood on wobbly feet and quickly bowed, "Thank you Lieut. General," Sheska took a sip of the steaming beverage, feeling a bit better, "Working without rest! I've found quite a bit about… 'you know who' but erm…I-I was unable to find anything concerning, uh… 'that other thing'," she looked around worriedly, especially eyeing the corners of the walls and bookshelves.

She knew the library like the back of her hand, but this was a military facility, and to the inner circle, consisting of Mustang's team and a select few outsiders, traitors or double spies weren't an uncommon sight, especially now in current matters.

Riza noticed the younger woman's alarm and smiled calmly, "Don't worry, I checked the room earlier before you came in, nothing is bugged. I requested for two soldiers to be outside for as long as you are here, so you should be safe," Riza smiled as she watched her colleague gingerly sip her coffee, "And like I said, please call me Riza,"

The timid librarian nodded with a shy smile, "R-right, sorry…Riza," both women smiled before Riza eyed the pile of books on the desk and moved towards it, grabbing one and flipping through it.

"Hm…I see, you've managed to find a lot of information concerning these 'sins'," partly hideous depictions greeted her, page after page, and Riza wasn't sure if what her husband and their friends were dealing with were even remotely human.

Sheska quietly mumbled, "Homunculi…"

Riza's gaze turned to the younger woman quizzically, "Those sins…they're called Homunculi," Sheska adjusted her glasses and reached for another, thicker book, quickly finding the marked page and showing it to her superior, "I found several documents stating the same, sometimes they're referred to as 'small humans'." She flipped onto the next page and pointed to a picture.

It showed a vase of some sort, within were small humans. _"So, they are human, after all,"_ Riza glanced at Sheska's concentrated look, "So, you're saying these Homunculi…the sins, they are fully human?"

Sheska hesitated, nervously adjusting her glasses again, "Yes….and no. According to most of these books, the sins of humanity have existed since the first human ever walked upon the earth. However, they weren't created at the same time," Riza's brows furrowed and Sheska elaborated further, "The first Homunculus to be 'born' would be Pride, also referred to as the 'father' of all sins, his birth would be followed by Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony and lastly Wrath." Sheska's eyes roved over the words, walls upon walls of text, "It also says that the sin of Pride is made responsible for the extinction of the Xerxes kingdom, an ancient country in the Great Desert that mysteriously disappeared, it's remains were lost to time. It is said that the king's thirst for infinite power and knowledge, as well as his prideful thinking, made him annihilate an entire race for his own selfish reasons. There is no evidence that states of what happened to the king afterwards, but many historians assumed he died shortly after, with no kingdom to support him."

Riza frowned, "But…how was a single man able to annihilate an entire race?"

Sheska shook her head, "None of the books elaborate on that, the circumstances to that tragedy remain largely unknown," Sheska scratched her cheek nervously, "Uh, but, according to them, if we believe them, it says that the Homunculi played a role in the downfall of the country. Whether or not historians meant it as a human's emotions or the tangible humans they are now…" she shrugged helplessly, "There are also several historical books that say they _are_ humans, but there are also others that call them 'Philosopher Stones'." The familiar word struck a chord in Riza and her eyes flew open.

"Wait…Philosopher Stone?" her gaze swept over the picture with the vase and the tiny humans in it, "Isn't that…the stone of life? A ingredient alchemists have sought after for centuries?" Sheska seemed mildly surprised by Riza's knowledge but nodded nonetheless.

"Yes…but…" her brows knitted together, "…that's not it, at least according to some texts. If what it says in several of these books about Homunculi is true then…the ultimate goal for alchemists hadn't been the creation of the Philosopher's Stone but…the creation of humans," a shiver raced down her spine, the prospect frightening and alien to her.

Riza frowned, shutting the book closed and setting it down on the table, "The creation of humans?" old scripts and formulas raced through her mind, "…but no matter what anyone does, that's impossible to achieve without reproduction,"

Sheska shrugged half-heartedly, watching the illustrations on the book she was holding, "Until now, we thought it impossible that the seven deadly sins of humanity had any corporeal form…or that Homunculi even existed…" she sighed heavily, hands flying in her hair to roughly yank at it in frustration, "I'm so sorry Riza! I'm a failure! I've been reading books all my life and I know this library like the back of my hand but I can't find any information about that Project F.P. and I know we're running out of time and General Mustang needs it and-"

Riza firmly placed a hand over the frantic woman's mouth, waiting until she slowly calmed down, only then did she remove it fully, "Nonsense, considering you're doing all this work alone, you've come very far. Thank you Sheska for taking this job on, I know how difficult it must be considering your normal amount of paperwork," Riza smiled sadly.

Sheska blushed, spluttering, "N-no! No-Not at all! P-Please Riza, it's alright really! It's no trouble! I get to read all day!" her embarrassed expression suddenly turned thoughtful, "But um…I'm wondering…just what is that project about if it's not even here in the library or in the database?"

Riza sighed, looking at the dusty books, "I don't know Sheska, perhaps it's something connected to these 'Homunculi' or maybe even Bradley himself," she bit her lip, gaze sharp as it scanned the shelves of books, "I'll send in for assistance, don't worry she's an old friend of mine who can be trusted. If she causes any trouble, don't hesitate to call on me," she patted the younger woman's shoulder and smiled, before exiting the library.

Sheska blankly stared at the door, now alone again.

In the next moment, Sheska slid to her knees on the floor, coffee in hand, an exhausted expression on her face, "Ohhhhh…" she slapped a hand to her forehead, "Well….I think I might need _a bit_ help…" there were still more books she hadn't read yet and if she didn't hand in her paperwork, it may cause some of the officers to grow suspicious. Sheska was known to be very punctual, especially in handing in her assignments, suddenly not doing so would jeopardize her secret mission here.

How she wished Hughes was here, he was the smartest and best soldier they have from the intelligence department…

Sheska groaned and slumped tiredly against the shelf behind her, robotically drinking from her cup.

It tasted like defeat.

* * *

Riza's short way back to her office was filled with silence in the hallways, but her head was filled with noise.

 _If what Sheska said was true…Homunculi were seen as small humans instead of the seven deadly sins, but what role could they possibly play in the downfall of the Xerxes kingdom? What role did they play now? Was any of the information relevant to finding out anything about Project F.P.?_ , Riza rubbed her forehead tiredly, feeling her eyes grow heavy with exhaustion. She had searched the military data-base until late in the night, has contacted several reliable sources, but came up with nothing.

Either Project F.P. didn't exist or it was such classified information that only the top brass know about or in other words, the Führer himself.

" _That's right…Bradley must know something about it. Perhaps there are clues in his desk drawers,_ " her mind brought her back to the suspicious child drawing's of Selim, " _It sounds insane, but they looked forged. Why would a grown, wildly influential military man such as Bradley take the time to forge a child's drawing? Why would he keep it hidden and locked in his drawer? Usually people store important things in the first drawer,"_ still, she had only checked the first drawer. He still had three more drawers, perhaps there was the information she was looking for.

She could only hope. In order for her to gain access to Bradley's office undisturbed, she would need an excuse similar to last time.

Which meant…

Making a detour to the parcel office, Riza smiled at the officer stationed there, stacks upon stacks of letters and other kinds of documents behind him, "I would like to fill out several forms, please,"

The officer, easily recognizing her, retrieved a smaller piece of paper to jot down her requests, "What shall it be, Lieutenant General?"

Riza smiled innocently, "I would like to request for several trucks worth of mini-skirt deliveries and the year's infrastructural requests,"

The officer lifted his head and his eyes nearly bugged out, "….Excuse me?"

Riza's smile remained, "Would you be so kind as to send them all directly to the Führer's office?" Riza's smile widened just a bit.

The officer was at a loss for words.

" _She finally lost her mind,"_ the officer thought as he shakily wrote his superior's request, mentally preparing himself on how to explain the odd nature of it to the clothing company for the mini-skirts.

 **INFO:** By years infrastructural requests (for lack of a better word) I meant that the department responsible for the maintenance for the labs and general structure of the military buildings and facilities have a plethora of wishes for improvements they would like to be funded/made to increase efficiency (like better equipment for the labs and such).


	33. Shadow of a Doubt

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for my long absence, school and some of my other works unfortunately took away all my attention, but I will try to update a bit more regularly. :) Oh and while browsing through all my notes to finish this little chapter, I stumbled upon an event I wrote which will take place after… _a few major things_ will happen and the title of the note was just " **Ed pees on Ling** " and a bit of text I wrote underneath with Ling's speaking paragraph, " _My foot stinks,"_ and…I just burst out laughing, I _knew_ at what time in the story it will take place and I just _lost it_ lmao. Right, story, sorry, my weird shenanigans. :P

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **MorbidVisionary:** T_T Thank you so much, it's so nice to hear about me doing something right :3 Hehe, honestly I'm always insecure about characterizations here.

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Shadow of a Doubt**

Bradley's eyebrow arched up until his hairline as he scanned the piece of paper the delivery man was holding out for him to sign, "I have requested for…what?"

The man flipped the chart and read the exact order again, "Let's see…one thousand-one-hundred-and-ten dark blue, pleated mini-skirts along with matching belts." He flipped the chart again so it was facing towards Bradley, "If you could please sign this, your next delivery should arrive soon,"

Bradley's brow arched higher, "…Next delivery?"

The man scratched his neck, "Yes, I believe you've asked for the year's infrastructural requests and stats. My colleague from the science department should be delivering them to you soon, they're about three boxes worth of them since last year's forms haven't been done yet,"

Bradley's visible eye twitched, "What exactly is the meaning of-"

A knock sounded at the door and Bradley expelled a sigh, "Enter,"

It was Sheska, who had trouble wheeling in what appeared to be three boxes, "Um, my apologies for intruding sir, but this was sent from the science department," she adjusted her uniform, "It says here that these are the infrastructural requests from last and this year," she nervously adjusted her glasses when she saw Bradley glaring daggers at the boxes, "S-Sir?"

The look of doom immediately vanished, and Bradley smiled instead, signing the form before him quickly, "That's alright, if you will, I would like to personally inspect them," Sheska got the hint and obviously the delivery man as well, since both of them started for the door at the same time.

As soon as they closed it, the frown returned to Bradley's lips, creases and wrinkles deepening on his aged face as the Führer moved around his spacious desk to inspect the delivery more closely. He would worry about the odd skirts later.

Grabbing a knife from his pocket, he sliced open the first box, a plethora of forms greeting him, "Hm…." He lifted the first paper close to his eyes, scanning its contents, "Renovations of laboratories… improved scientific tools…increased salaries…" he set it down, rubbing at his forehead, "Was it an error…" he shook his head, his mind swirling with ideas, " _No, the delivery seemed too large for it to be an error in the system, someone with the appropriate authority ordered this."_ His gaze narrowed.

He would need to make his rounds through the building after lunch and pay a visit to a certain person.

* * *

Sheska rose an eyebrow questioningly, "Um…so, you're Riza's friend?" she blinked up at the determined brunette, who was intently scanning the covers of the aged books.

Rebecca flashed her a grin, "You bet I am! Now, Riza said she had a quick errand to run so I'll be helping you with research!" she leaned in to whisper close to the woman's ear, "I'm informed of everything, so update me on what you have already and I'll search the shelves you didn't yet," she winked at Sheska and the smaller woman couldn't help but sigh in appreciation.

Riza Mustang truly was an amazing woma-

" _OUT OF MY WAY SUITS! I HAVE BUSINESS TO DO!"_ a vaguely familiar, loud woman's voice suddenly sounded right outside the door and Rebecca froze in front of her, " _HEY! DANNY! DON'T MAKE ME SHOW YOU A NEW MOVE I USE ON ASSHOLES!"_

Danny's nervous voice drifted much more quietly to Sheska's ears, " _I-I'm very sorry miss L-Lena, but we aren't allowed granting anyone access into the library unless Miss Mustang approves directly!"_

Ross' voice was next, " _That's right, unfortunately, we will have to ask you to leave,"_

A fleeting feeling surged through Sheska, didn't she know the name 'Lena' from somewhere?

" _Why you-!"_

 _"_ _Our sincerest apologies of intruding, but please understand, we have an urgent matter to discuss with Lieut. General Mustang,"_ this was Lan Fan's voice, she knew her.

Sheska quickly headed for the large double doors, swinging them open and nearly causing both Danny and Maria to stumble from their stiff positions pressed against the wood.

Lena's enraged face greeted her first, "Finally!" her anger slowly dissipated when she saw Sheska, "Oh, hey, Sheska,"

Maria's eyes narrowed at how calm the previously violent woman got and muttered close to Danny's ear behind her hand, "Isn't this Greed's girlfriend?"

Danny trembled, terrified from the suspicious look Lena sent him and he violently nodded his head in answer to his partner's question, holding her shoulder in a death grip.

"Uhm…" Sheska looked around, spotting a few familiar faces among the unusual bunch of women, "Wait, Miss Lan Fan, Miss Mei as well?" she blinked, her eyes zeroing in on Winry smiling sheepishly, "Um, I'm really sorry but I don't know you,"

Winry squeezed her arm through both Lan Fan and Mei, shaking hands with a bewildered Sheska, "Uh, hi! I'm very sorry to barge in like this, I'm Winry Rockbell, you may have heard of my mechanic shop?" she grinned proudly, discreetly slipping her card into Sheska's hand, "We get anything fixed!"

Sheska stared at the card, then at the other women, "Um…"

Lena sighed, "She is Ed's girl," ignoring the spluttered, nervous denials from Winry at the back, the taller woman looked down at Sheska, "Anyway, sorry to bother you Sheska, but we seriously need to talk to Riza," the serious look in the brunette's eyes was what prompted Sheska to do what she did then.

She shared a look with Danny and Maria over her shoulder, before beckoning the women into the library quickly, "Let's talk inside," she ushered a stunned Rebecca inside as well.

"If Riza comes back, tell her to come inside immediately!" both Danny and Maria nodded dumbly at the cute librarian's order, before the small woman shut the doors closed.

"….Was that…a dream?" Danny blinked slowly, scratching his head.

Maria sighed, "I don't think so…I don't dream of violently screaming women often,"

Danny just shot her a look.

* * *

Sheska took a deep breath, steadying herself on the double doors until she turned around to address the group she found herself with.

Just how many unusual friends did Riza even have? For such a serious woman, her friends were quite the opposite.

Well…she _had_ married Roy after all…

Lena and Rebecca were looking at each-other curiously, "Aren't you the single friend Riza often talks about?" Lena's tone seemed innocent and good-natured enough but that certainly hit a nerve in Rebecca.

"….I'll let you know, I've been to many dates before!" she waved her finger at Lena's perplexed face, "And aren't _you_ the violent woman accused of domestic abuse?" she arched an eyebrow, hands on hips.

Lena's eyes nearly bugged out of her head, " _What?!_ I never hit Greed enough to be classified as domestic abuse! Excuse me! And I never even set foot into court!" her fist shook, "Just what sort of stories have you heard about me?! I'm a pacifist at heart!" she rested her hand over her heart as if wounded.

At that, Lan Fan, Winry and Mei all grimaced.

Sheska tried moving closer to diffuse the situation, "Uh, please ladies if we could calm down and-"

Rebecca jabbed her finger right above Lena's collarbone, "Excuse _you_ , you started it with the single thing, _martial artist_!"

Lena barked back viciously, "Was I wrong?! Sorry I didn't know your name so the next best thing that popped to memory was that! Blame my boyfriend's weird selective memory and tendency to put nicknames on people…and his contagious habits! At least I didn't give you a nickname yet!"

Rebecca pouted, "I wouldn't bet that pretty little-"

" _Enough!_ " Mei's surprisingly booming voice shut them both up, causing Lena to stiffen straight as a board.

"….S-Sorry Mei," she coughed into her fist, significantly calming down, "Apologies, we started off on the wrong foot, but it's really urgent," Lena fixed Rebecca with a serious look and the woman relented with an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, alright, why did you come here and start a ruckus for?" it was thankfully Lan Fan who spoke next, much calmer than her companions.

"We came to gather information about the certain Homunculi Ling and the others are battling against on the front lines," she shared a look with her friends before looking down at Sheska, "We are offering our assistance, but in return we require your cooperation as well," she bowed at the waist, her posture straight and respectful, "Please,"

Rebecca smiled, "Now that's how you ask for help," she patted Lan Fan on the shoulder so the woman straightened, "I could do without the bow though, we're all friends here," she gave Lena a friendly smile and the brunette chuckled, nodding.

Winry sighed, "So much for being subtle when we enter military facilities…" she shot Lena a disapproving look.

The brunette crossed her arms, "What? I _tried_ , right? It's just…there's just something about _Ross_ that… _ugh_! I think it's the mole, okay?"

Winry deadpanned, "You mean the beauty mark on her face?"

Lena laughed, "Ha! Beauty my ass! Whoever came up with that probably ate alphabet soup with a side dish of bull!" she pondered her own words for a moment, before smiling, "Oh, that's a good one, I think Greed will find it hilarious,"

Lan Fan blinked, "You…tell each-other the creative insults you come up with for other people?"

The martial artist frowned, "Lan Fan, please, I'm a lady of culture. They're creative _descriptions_ regarding their attitude and personality," she smiled proudly, adjusting the brown straps on her shoulders holding her gun and knife.

The bookworm of the team timidly called out, "Can we continue with the research please? Riza will get here soon,"

Lena blinked as if a thought suddenly hit her, "Oh, yeah, where is the sharpshooter anyway?"

* * *

"And you're saying this information is certain?" Riza scanned the contents of the scribbled information on the piece of paper and couldn't believe it.

A puff of smoke circled through the air before it vanished, "It's our best bet and our only reliable lead. It also connects the dots of the riddle if you think about it," madame Christmas glanced to the side, watching her girls do their work before returning her attention to Riza.

Both women stared at the unknown note, handwriting unknown and looking to be purposely scribbled messily, to avoid possibilities of identification.

The only words on it were, " _Labs are the answers to your riddle,"_

Riza replaced the word 'rooms' with 'labs', but still, "But, the riddle says four rooms are usable, not five," as far as she knew, Laboratory 5 was shut down.

Madame Christmas grinned and waggled her finger playfully, "Ah, ah, ah, you should know better missy, you work in the military after all. Just because a room is locked doesn't mean it can't be used," she winked and grinned, "That especially rings true for military facilities. After wars, abandoned buildings were often used as hideouts or the devil's breeding ground, to prevent locals or authorities from finding them, people often barricaded them until they returned or it was safe to use them again without being spied on," she pointed to the paper again, "As far as I remember, wasn't there an incident with Laboratory 5 that caused it's shutdown?"

Riza's brows furrowed in thought for a while, her gaze moving from her glass to the wooden counter, "Seven rooms. Two of them got torn down." Riza drew seven squares and crossed out two of them on the paper, "One got locked and abandoned." She circled the square marked as "locked", "Only four rooms were available for living. How many rooms remained?" she scanned the squares again.

Madame Christmas and Riza shared a look, "Laboratory 5 used to be a biochemical facility, just like the other ones, however, frequent incidents involving unstable dealings with biological matter had forced authorities to shut it down and permanently deactivate it's purpose. People honestly forgot about it since it's been so long out of use," she rose an eyebrow, setting the paper down, "I still don't understand what grandfather tried to tell me, does he know something I don't?" she fixed the older woman with a questioning glance, knowing she would be her best lead for this.

The woman scoffed, coughing out a circular shaped smoke cloud, "Tch, figures the old fart wouldn't mention anything, you all gotta do it yourself," her gaze slid over to Riza again and she leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper, "Don't you know? Locked doors are the ones you open first[A1] ," before she leaned away again and grabbed her glass, refilling it with water.

Riza caught on when madame Christmas shot her a brief but meaningful look, "Thank you madam," she nodded and left change, "I'll be back soon tonight, you said there was some karaoke?" Riza smiled.

The older woman laughed harshly, "Aye, I would be sorely disappointed if you don't come missy," she grinned and winked, waving after Riza had already left.

She looked at the piece of paper and her eyes narrowed, staring at the writing, thinking of the imposter that had impersonated Roy, "… _Could it be?"_

* * *

"Lieutenant General Raven," Bradley smiled amicably at the darker skinned man.

He immediately saluted, "Führer King Bradley, sir,"

"At ease," he nodded and the general relaxed his position, "Am I disturbing you by chance?" he rose an eyebrow, eyeing the suggestive magazine hastily hidden beneath the space underneath the desk.

The gray-haired man laughed, "Of course not sir, I always have time to spare for our great leader,"

Bradley chuckled, "Very well, I have a request if you don't mind,"

Lt. General Raven rose an eyebrow, wondering what it could be.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Riza blinked in stupefied surprise, now not at all surprised by Danny's slightly fearful reaction when he saw her approaching them and Ross' exasperated sigh.

They were here.

Lena's head poked out from behind a bookshelf, "Yo!" she waved, grinning.

Riza smiled, "I see you've made yourself at home," eyeing the three small cups of what she deduced was coffee.

Mei called from somewhere at the front, "That was the second thing she did after we started,"

Riza giggled, "What was the first?"

Winry suddenly sprang forth from beneath a mountain of books, having been buried beneath their weight on the desk she was leaning heavily against, "Annoying us!" she shot the martial artist a peeved look but Lena buried her nose in another book.

Riza sighed, smiling at Sheska, "I'm sorry if they gave you too much trouble,"

Sheska smiled brightly, "Not at all! They were all very helpful, thank you for sending me Miss Catalina to help out too,"

Riza looked around the room, "Where is she?"

"Potty break," Lena yawned and approached the duo, coming to stand before them, holding out a book, "This is interesting," handing the book over to Riza.

The blonde took it wordlessly, opening it on the page Lena had marked, angling it so Sheska had a clear view too.

 _"_ _The sin of Pride, the first and foremost sin to be born into this world has also been referred to as "Father Sin" due to the fact all the other sins arise from it in the millennia to come. The sin is rumored to be a vicious one, the loss of many but one step closer to the achievement of its ultimate goal."_

"Ultimate goal?" Riza looked at Lena.

She shrugged helplessly, "No idea, really, " she rubbed her knuckles together, covered by her red and black fingerless gloves, "World domination? Isn't that what every villain wants?"

Sheska frowned, "Maybe, but we aren't dealing with every day villains, these might as well be supernatural creatures, these so called Homunculi,"

The sharpshooter quickly closed the book, "Speaking of supernatural, I have something to discuss with all of you," Lena moved back to get Lan Fan and Mei, Rebecca just arriving on time through the door.

She greeted her best friend with a large grin and a pat on the shoulder, "Hey you! You've been skipping about lately, huh? Restless without Roy, hm?"

Riza smiled, "I can say the same for you without Havoc,"

And suddenly, the teasing woman was reduced to a speechless mess until after several seconds, she found her voice, "W-Wait, a minute I just said I wanted to go on _one_ date with him! That doesn't mean anything!"

The sniper turned her attention toward the rest of her friends, "Whatever you say Rebecca,"

After hearing an affirmative huff, Riza began to speak, her face a serious mask, "Madame Christmas called, she had a new lead," she could sense everyone's anticipation and nervousness, "We managed to solve the riddle General Grumman wrote, at least we think we did,"

Lan Fan crossed her arms, "The one about the four rooms?"

Riza shook her head, "As it turned out, it were five actually." She remembered madam's words, "Just because a room is locked doesn't mean it can't be used, the same applied here. The rooms in the riddle portrayed the laboratories,"

Sheska's eyes widened, "The laboratories here in the military? But, what does that have to do with anything? How does that help us?"

Riza frowned at the bookish woman in thought, "I think we are supposed to find something there, perhaps clues which may help us in our investigation, after all they were biochemical facilities, there is bound to be something interesting to find there,"

Lena shivered, "Like mutated animals? Mutilated human bodies? Dog and girl hybrids?" another shiver raced down her spine at the absurd possibilities.

Riza's reaction was worse, "We should be prepared for anything,"

* * *

Large footsteps, ones reminiscent of a bear lacking claws, left notable imprints along the snowy path all the way from the entrance of Fort Briggs.

"Damn this snow," Buccaneer protectively held his hand in front of his eyes, barely seeing five feet in front of him, "Tch, Drachma sure isn't dumb,"

Of course not, despite their delusional leader, their smart delusional leader, Buccaneer held the hope of not being seen before he could see the enemy, the snowy breeze, a slower snowstorm really, impaired his vision enough to make him move cautiously, something he rarely resorted to unless absolutely necessary.

General Olivier entrusted him with this task, he would not fail, no matter what.

Strengthening his resolve with her face in mind, Buccaneer moved on, spiky boots pushing him onward far easier than any sort of other footwear ever would in this icy land.

There.

It had been brief but enough. A small flickering light had Buccaneer immediately falling flat to the snow-covered earth, eyes trained on the light.

Did the enemy think he was this dumb? That he would fall for their amateur tricks?

Buccaneer scoffed indignantly, crawling along the earth until he mentally calculated to be on the other side of Drachma's supposed base, the opposite side from where the light had come from, which meant he was directly at the enemy's back.

Tactics such as these were used to confuse a wandering soldier waiting to ambush a larger party, the inexperienced soldier would fall straight into a trap by charging forward, thinking the enemy to be doing a mistake where in reality, they would ambush the soldier as soon as they gained sight of him.

But Buccaneer was no fool.

With a grin, he adjusted the automail bear claw on his arm and charged, roaring like the bears he frequently scared off in the woods.

As soon as he saw a shadowy figure, Buccaneer roared and slammed his fist against a solid body, a pained yelp confirming the hit target before Buccaneer jumped back from a spray of bullets and digging up earth and snow with his automail to create brief coverage.

Another from the side, Buccaneer disposed of him easily.

When he advanced forward more, deeper into enemy base, his eyes widened as he stopped dead in his tracks.

It weren't just a few soldiers.

It was a squadron.

At least six hundred men.

Bazookas and semi-automatic machine guns.

Buccaneer grinned and readjusted his automail.

This would be a field day.

* * *

He had a stubble.

He'd managed to shave five days ago.

Five days ago where the backup troops should've arrived.

They didn't.

"Arghh, this is driving me crazy!" Ed ran his hands through his messy hair, growling into the sky as their group continued walking forward.

Roy sighed, "Calm down Fullmetal, they may be following our footsteps as we speak,"

It had been too dangerous to stay in one place, so the group opted, under Maes' advice, to return to Fort Briggs and regain their strength before they could take any further action.

Roy eyed Edward's arm critically, "Did the mechanic fix everything?"

Even the bloody mechanic had managed to come before their backup troops. Pathetic. "Yeah, good as new," he clenched his fist and stretched his arm, smiling, "Still, what gives? We've been waiting for reinforcements for a while now,"

Roy hummed thoughtfully, "True, I'll give you that, perhaps they've ran into some trouble along the way,"

Greed, hands stuffed in his pockets, growled from beside them, "Trouble? Do you know what trouble is? Trouble is the thing I'll get once I find a phone and call Lena!"

Ed shivered, "No, that's hell Greed,"

The soldier fixed him with a glare, "Oi, she's my girlfriend midget,"

A familiar welling of rage built up in his chest, but he stubbornly fought it down, "Hey! You said the same thing!"

The raven-haired man shot back, "I'm _allowed_ to say it since I mean it in a boyfriend kind of way, you'll understand once you get a woman of your own," he coughed into his fist, "…or man,"

"What was that?" Ed's eyebrow twitched.

"Nothing,"

Alphonse, silently walking alongside Ling and his other medical team, observed his brother from afar worriedly.

"What's wrong, Al?" Ling followed the blond's line of sight and smiled knowingly, "He'll be fine, he had a good week's rest,"

The man shook his head, "It's not that, not really, I'm just worried about him that's all,"

Ling grinned in understanding, slinging an arm over his friend's shoulders, "I know the feeling, I always feel like the older twin whenever I'm around Greed,"

"I heard that you little bitch!" Greed barked back, shooting him the evil eye from the front.

Ling called back, "I love you too despite your disastrous fashion sense!" he grinned broadly, causing Al to chuckle.

" _Excuse me?!"_

Ignoring his brother's outbursts, Ling focused back on Al, "Anyway, it's practically in our genes to worry, just like it's in their nature to do stupid things and get injured," he shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Al shook his head, smiling tiredly, "Yeah, maybe you're right Ling,"

Roy's loud voice suddenly reached their ears, "Stay alert, we are heading over to Fort Briggs, it's our best chance to gather our strength, don't waste too much of it on the way in case of an ambush," they all nodded seriously, Breda and Fuery walking sluggishly behind Havoc and Falman.

"Ugh, why did I sign up for this again?" Breda tiredly yawned, stretching his arms up above his head.

Fuery smiled, adjusting his glasses, "Well, can't say I regret it. At least, life is not boring, right?" he grinned brightly at his companion, who only scoffed and laughed.

"General Mustang! General Mustang, wait!" a unfamiliar voice rang from behind the group, Breda and Fuery immediately crouching and readying their rifles until they saw the familiar messenger badge stuck to the blue uniform of the state military, the man rushing towards them in a panicked hurry.

Greed, Ling, Alphonse and Ed watched him curiously how he hastily searched for a telegram, Ed's heart jumping in hope for Winry's letter, but it was curbed the moment the messenger soldier gave Roy a opened envelope. Murmurs were heard among their group about the contents of the paper.

Dead silence stretched over the group the minute they all saw the expression on the soldier's face-

It was terror.

Pale-faced and with trembling fingers, the soldier pushed the opened letter to Roy.

Roy rose a brow at the opened letter, " _Soldiers of lower status never opened letters, just why did this one open it?"_ instead of voicing his question, he unfolded the letter in his hands.

The messenger soldier's voice was a broken whisper, a crack in his voice at the end of his sentence, "General Mustang, sir…I'm sorry but…"

Roy turned the letter around to scan its contents and paused at the short sentences on the paper.

His hands shook.

"-the reinforcements won't come,"

 **I'm so sorry…** I finally update after such a long time and stop at the best part… (bows repeatedly) I APOLOGIZE! .

 **BTW: Please visit AzureVermillion's profile page on DeviantArt, she kindly made a amazing fanart for me of Lena (my OC)! Go and check it out!**

 **Link:** Deviantart azurevermillion / art / Lena - 766431189 (without spaces)


	34. Scented Paper

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I'm glad to be back, you wouldn't believe how many Edwin scenes (wink, wink) I've written out for future chapters, but I just had such difficulties getting past this.

 **ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

 **AzureVermillion:** Ohhh no, I have a lot of plans for that sassy old woman (Madame Christmas) so she won't die off so soon! ;) I know…NINA T_T Thank you for the compliments! I've always wanted to write Al and Ling as a bit more on the stronger, forceful side (not too much though). Honestly thank you my friend, your amazing fanart for Lena and Greed just gave me so many lives so many times over! XD

 **MorbidVisionary:** Of course, thank you for your reply! :3 I swear, I would marry the person who draws Soldier!Ed with a stubble *_* I have a pretty damn clear vision of that, but I can't draw to save my life haha.

 **Phoenix:** (rubs chin) Wait, wait, Drachma reach Xerxes? You mean Xing? Isn't Xing to the east of Amestris? Ah yes I know! I have to admit, I've been a bit lazy to write "green tinged golden eyes" for Al, but I'll definitely mention it more often so people don't get confused with the 'gold' colors, thanks for the tips! :) Oh and the tidbit for Wrath: like in canon, Wrath joined the party last, but here, since he joined last, he also joined at a time when Greed was already out, so he might have HEARD of a new recruit (he put the pieces of the sins together and just deduced the last one must be named Wrath lol) but he never actually saw him or found out what he looked like since he had to hide.

 **Giulia:** T_T T_T C-Can I hug you? (hugs tightly) Oh god, thank you so much! You have no idea how happy you made me! Thank you! I know a lot of people are put off by the slow burn, but I just can't write them without that, it would be too fast XD. Ohhh thank you! I was writing that part while running low on sleep, so I was so scared when I published it and thought people wouldn't like it, but your words give me courage that it wasn't all that bad :3 Ah, no, alchemy doesn't exist here in my story (I mentioned that in the first chapter in the Author's Notes) as for how Ed got the automail…that's mentioned somewhere between uh…chapter 2-10? I'm sorry, I forgot which one exactly, I'll write the exact chapter up once I find it! And again, **thank you so much!** I really appreciate your sweet words and the time you took to write the review and read my story! :)

 **Hyperion26:** T_T Oh my sweet baby cherry, thank you so much! (bows) Thank you so very much, I feel really honored that my story gets called 'amazing', really thank you. :) I read your review today after having a really tough time (my dog suffered from cancer so she had to be put to sleep) and motivated me to finish this chapter, so thank you again :) I'm really glad you like my story so much.

* * *

 **NOTE: THIS chapter marks the point where things are about to go down.** Not only does this represent Ed  & Winry's changing relationship (the scented letter) but also how the situation is getting more dangerous with Bradley and the Homunculi (now that Bradley openly betrayed his soldiers at the border). Expect a bit more driving plots!

* * *

 **Scented Paper**

 ** _Previously on "Letters from War"…_**

 _"_ _General Mustang! General Mustang, wait!" a unfamiliar voice rang from behind the group, Breda and Fuery immediately crouching and readying their rifles until they saw the familiar messenger badge stuck to the blue uniform of the state military, the man rushing towards them in a panicked hurry._

 _Greed, Ling, Alphonse and Ed watched him curiously how he hastily searched for a telegram, Ed's heart jumping in hope for Winry's letter, but it was curbed the moment the messenger soldier gave Roy a opened envelope. Murmurs were heard among their group about the contents of the paper._

 _Dead silence stretched over the group the minute they all saw the expression on the soldier's face-_

 _It was terror._

 _Pale-faced and with trembling fingers, the soldier pushed the opened letter to Roy._

 _Roy rose a brow at the opened letter, "Soldiers of lower status never opened letters, just why did this one open it?" instead of voicing his question, he unfolded the letter in his hands._

 _The messenger soldier's voice was a broken whisper, a crack in his voice at the end of his sentence, "General Mustang, sir…I'm sorry but…"_

 _Roy turned the letter around to scan its contents and paused at the short sentences on the paper._

 _His hands shook._

 _"_ _-the reinforcements won't come,"_

It's been a while, but Edward can say for sure he hadn't heard Roy's voice get that quiet before, "…What?"

The messenger soldier looked distraught, his gaze reflecting the sincere distress he was feeling over the unexpected situation and the implications behind them, "I'm sorry sir, but they sent me on an urgent errand to deliver it as soon as possible."

Roy's next question caused the hairs on Edward's arm to stand, "Is a chopper waiting for you?"

The soldier's answer sent a cold shower of realization down his spine, "No, sir." the soldier swallowed, as if realizing the implications himself. Havoc's unlit cigarette fell to the ground at his feet and Ed could see the tightening of his eyes, no doubt having the urge to shoot whoever gave the order.

A shadow fell over Roy's eyes, partly obscured by his bangs and Fuery gripped the messenger's arm tightly, "Wait, that can't be, there has to be some mistake! We were told at least three troops would be sent here for backup along with supplies." Fuery's voice grew in volume until Breda gripped his shoulder tightly and pulled him back, Falman stepping in to question in his stead.

"Who gave you those orders?" from the corner of his eye, he watched his friend and superior closely, who still looked on grimly.

"I-It was an order from the office directly, s-sir."

The silence that followed was charged as was Havoc's outburst in the minutes after, "From the office?! But that's-"

"-Bradley." Roy whispered underneath his breath, straightening his posture and looking everyone in the eye.

Ed and Al shared a look with each-other, "You don't think…"

Edward looked on at Roy and Hughes, who seemed to be mentally holding a conversation simply by looking at each-other, "So, Bradley's the one behind all this? Why would he not send us backup? It doesn't make sense if he wants to win the war that he won't even supply his best soldiers with essentials!" he had a hunch why he did it, they all did, but still, it wouldn't make for a wise move, it didn't _make sense._

And then, Roy turned suddenly, looking around hastily at them, "Does anyone have a still working phone?!"

Fuery quickly patted down his pockets and finally found his phone, tossing it over to Roy, who quickly punched in the State Military's office.

They were surprised to hear Roy call out urgently, "Riza! You have to listen carefully! The reinforcements we've sent for won't come! I repeat, reinforcements won't come!" the amount of distress in Roy's voice sent a spike of worry through Edward's heart, the usually more calm man not quick to worry being so concerned over something.

Roy waited briefly, listening. The air was charged with tension, Ed could feel his own feet shuffle uneasily and he shared a quick glance with his brother.

The words were distantly heard, but Riza's brain was slower to process them, those dreaded words, " _What? How can that be? They should be due to arrive today."_ she mentally went through all dates in her head, confirming the due date to be today.

Roy glared at the letter in his hand, the paper crumbling slightly from his strong grip, "They won't, we've just gotten notice." he looked at the soldier who sent them this, he still looked mildly haunted by the fact his buddies, the military he had pledged his life to, had left him behind to die on the frontlines.

" _A telegram? That can't be Roy, I wasn't informed of anything."_ his wife's voice sounded alarmed, slightly distraught but still had the same professionalism, despite the circumstances.

Roy's fingers gripped the phone tightly, "Riza, listen to me. Ask Führer Bradley-" and suddenly, Hughes grabbed the phone from his friend, Roy stumbling slightly from the unexpected action.

" **Don't!** " he hollered into the phone and Roy gained enough semblance of control to try and grab the phone back from his friend, who roughly pushed his hand against the general's face to keep him at bay, "Don't talk to him or anyone except from our group, you understand? Inform Sheska and the others of this immediately!" Hughes paused for just a split second, "Inform Gracia too but tell her everything is alright for now, we'll be heading for Fort Briggs. If anyone asks, we were still near Aerugo after Edward got injured!"

" _Hughes, what is the meaning of this? You don't think what I assume it is, do you?"_ Hughes' lips stretched into a thin line, his own fist shaking at his side in silent anger at Riza's question.

He watched realization flicker across his best friend's face, "Unfortunately, I do Riza. There's no doubt about it now, Bradley made his move and he made it clear where he stands." Hughes looked at the messenger soldier then at his own team, "We'll try to figure things out as we go, for now don't use the military lines to call us, go to Madame Christmas and try to find out what to do, meet up with the girls as well." He clenched the phone harder, "Keep them safe for me, too." he whispered the last part before the line went dead and he tossed Fuery his phone back, who caught it with a worried look.

Havoc scoffed, gaze drawn into a grimace, "So, what now? We've been stood up, we'll have to get to Fort Briggs before any of those bastards find and ambush us here." he checked his rifle, clicking his tongue, "Barely got much ammo left for more than a hundred pigs to kill."

Hughes sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Riza will try to settle things on her side, we will do the best we can here with what we've got." he glanced over at Roy, who had a thoughtful look on his face, "What's going on in that head of yours, Roy?"

The general's frown deepened, "You were right, it doesn't make any sense for Bradley to turn his back on us now, especially in the middle of the war's climax. He needs us now more than anything, betraying and angering us won't be of any beneficial use to him, so why did he choose the time to do it so soon? Why _now_?"

Edward walked up to them, looking livid, "I told you this wasn't a fucking good idea!" he clenched his teeth tightly in anger, golden eyes narrowing in rage, "You're not stupid Mustang! Even if I wished you were, we both know who sets the rules in this place and it's not the good kind of people." he clenched his shaking fist, "It was only a matter of time, we all knew it, but…" he fell quiet, snarling in frustration.

Roy's gaze lowered, staring at the earth, "You're right Fullmetal…we both knew it…"

And suddenly, the messenger spoke up, "Um, you're headed to Fort Briggs?"

Roy's expression softened, empathy lining the hardened features of the soldier, "Yes…" he bowed his head briefly, "I'm sorry for this."

The man shook his head, bringing his rifle forth that was slung across his back, "It's not your fault, General." He took a deep, shaky breath, "I still know…basic combat training, but I'm just a messenger." He shrugged half-heartedly, a wry grin on cracked lips, "I may not be as experienced as you, but I can provide backup from afar." He gestured to his rifle.

Roy smiled and placed a hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed, "We appreciate your assistance, considering circumstances." The man nodded and Roy turned around to address everyone else, "We'll continue on to the Fort, for now we have to trust Riza to handle things on her side."

The large group continued on, noticing how the snow seemed to grow beneath their feet as they neared Drachma territory again, the fine blanket of snow that had previously covered the ground changed to almost reaching their knees, thankfully they'd been trained for these conditions.

It had been hours since they'd received word of no backup before Edward sighed and fell into step beside the messenger soldier, "Hey uh…I know this really isn't the time but…" Ed hesitated, sweat accumulating in his gloved hands at the question that had burned on his tongue since he'd seen the messenger in the distance, "Do uh, do you have any…mail? Letters for…any of us?"

The man blinked, scanning Ed's face as if recognizing him for the first time, "L-Lieut. General Elric!" he scrambled for the worn bag slung across his chest, bringing it forward to rummage within it, Ed's eyes glued to the plethora of mails stacked within, "Right! Yes! I knew I had something!" the letter he produced looked normal to Ed, a standard one he always got from Winry.

He noticed something very different when he actually held it in his hands, close to his face to frantically scan the familiar handwriting he'd become accustomed to for the past few months.

Had months already passed since they were writing back and forth?

Not having the patience to rummage for a knife he knew he had somewhere on him, Edward bit one end of the letter and tore it open with his teeth, the military mailman freezing at the unusual sight.

Ling grinned from beside his brother, having slowed down to witness the exchange, "Aw, look! It's a letter from his girlfriend." The one sided conversation with his brother had been whispered but the blond menace still heard him.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Ed hollered and had half a mind to chuck his shoe at the obnoxious Xingese man, but Greed had already done the job for him by slamming his fist on his head and walking passed the stupefied form of his brother.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?!" Ling complained as he walked after his twin.

Edward spied a small smirk on Greed's lips but paid it no further mind when he finally registered the weird thing coming from Winry's letter.

The smell.

Ed's eyes flew open slightly, "…Perfume?"

" ** _PERFUME?!"_** Maes Hughes was on him the second the word left his lips, his eyes scanning the forefront of the letter only to sigh in disappointment, "Ah…I thought it was from my darling Gracia…" he pouted sadly only to be roughly pushed away from the angry man under him.

"Get off my back!" he winced, muttering under his breath about 'crazy superiors' and 'obsessed husbands' when he gingerly clutched his letter to his face, taking a deep breath of the faint smell. The envelope kept the smell sealed within somewhat, but it was fading faster now with the harsh wind and the surrounding unpleasant smells, "It is…perfume…is this really Winry's?" an image of the young woman dressed in dirty overalls and her bandana came to his mind.

He couldn't figure out how to associate the feminine smell to someone like her.

And suddenly, Hughes was in his face again, "Ah, I see, it's from your letter lady!" he grinned like a fox, a testament to how much evil influence Roy had over him.

Edward protectively clutched the yet-to-be-read letter against his chest, ignoring the stunned look of the messenger man before them, "She's not a 'letter lady', she's my friend damn it!" Ed growled, stuffing the letter in his pocket, albeit carefully so it didn't tear, before marching on.

Hughes grinned widely, "Oh come on Ed my boy! Don't you know the significance of a scented letter?" he jogged up to the younger male, grinning from ear to ear, "Let me tell you of the time my sweet Gracia and I were so young and in love, while I was courting her she used to send me letters sprinkled with her perfume and it was the best thing I'd ever received! I've kept them all of course!" Hughes wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye, "In this time and age, letters may have grown outdated, but the feelings and thoughts behind them are timeless, they're just as real as when the person is standing right in front of you." He looked down at the blond, "Keep them close to you, Edward." He patted Ed's breast pocket, the pocket where he stored the majority of their letters, almost knowingly, before going off to Roy again.

Edward swallowed, hearing shuffling behind him, "Uh, so this 'letter lady'…she signed up for the program, didn't she?" the man had a small smile on his face, "I met my past girlfriend like that too." He grinned.

Edward huffed, looking down at the sweet-smelling letter, before he carefully folded it and slid it back into its envelope, tucking it into the inner pocket of his jacket, next to his breast pocket.

He stopped, sighing and turning his head slightly, "Say uh… you said 'past'…what happened to her?"

The messenger smiled, but there was something sad in his eyes, "Well, you know the phrase ' _don't kill the messenger_ '? Apparently, they're the ones who always get killed first." He laughed out loud and Ed felt just slightly disgusted with how the man laughed, but curbed it down. Many soldiers tried hiding or coping with trauma differently, some tell bad jokes.

Despite the harsher terrain and his legs feeling like heavy weights as they dragged through the thick snow, Ed's thoughts were still on Winry's letter, opened but unread in his pocket.

What could she've written to spray some perfume on it? Did she know what it meant? Did she do it on purpose? Maybe she was spraying herself and some of it accidentally got on the letter?

Ed shook his head, trying to shove those thoughts for later tonight. They were nearing their territory, which also meant enemy territory at the border, they had to be on the lookout now more than ever, especially considering Kimblee's injuries.

 _Kimblee!_

Ed looked forward, looking wildly until he spotted the bomber walking stiffly next to the Xingese twins and he couldn't fight off a twinge of suspicion, " _How comes Kimblee hasn't said a word at all for the last two days? He's usually not as bad as Ling, but he's not so quiet either."_ Ever since his injury, Kimblee had been acting weird.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose.

Maybe it was all in his head.

* * *

The dead silence that had filled the library was finally disturbed by hushed panic shouts, "What the hell?! What do you mean no reinfor-hmpfh!" Lena's enraged outburst was promptly silenced by Riza's hand slapping firmly over her mouth, listening in for any signs of footsteps outside before she took her hand away.

"I understand your feelings, believe me I do, but we can't compromise our position." Riza's gaze traveled to the still unread textbooks spread out on the table, "Several soldiers will most likely visit the library in the afternoon, after lunch is over. I suggest you try to find out what you can until then, make sure to clean up thoroughly after yourselves and leave no traces behind of what we did here." She looked at Sheska, "I trust you will follow through." She nodded her head before the younger woman could answer back, briskly walking out of the library.

Winry was holding onto the table tightly, her eyes wide and scared, "W-wait, what did Riza mean? She said reinforcements weren't coming, don't tell me it was…" Winry paused, unsure if she should say it outloud or not, her wildly beating heart sounded so loud in her ears she was afraid she would accidentally scream.

Lan Fan swallowed thickly, her own distress visible in the tightening of her fists and her unfocused gaze, "Yes…it was them." She shared a concerned glance with Mei, who hugged Xiao Mei close to her chest, her hands shaking in fear at the prospect of something happening to Alphonse.

Lena slammed one book shut, groaning loudly, "We can't stay here!" she attempted to storm out of the library but Winry caught her wrist in a death grip.

"W-wait, what do you mean?! Riza said we had enough time to still read through a few books until other soldiers come here, we have to take the chance!" the blonde mechanic's eyes were wide in distress and Lena shook off her grip, her hands sweaty from the nervous energy she felt ever since hearing the news.

" _I_ can't stay here!" with that, the brunette fled the room.

The library was quiet and after what felt like an eternity, Rebecca tapped Sheska's shoulder, who jumped from the unexpected contact, "Here." She gave a thick book into the woman's hands, a particular page was opened.

The text reflected off Sheska's glasses.

 _Sin of Wrath_

* * *

Riza walked along the halls, straight towards her office.

How could the reinforcement troops be immobilized? What happened? Who gave the order?

In the back of her mind, Riza knew exactly what sole person had the authority to deal that order, but she tried not to dwell on the thought, it was too soon, too soon for Bradley or his super soldiers to turn their backs on the military. Something was amiss, she would get to the bottom of it.

"Excuse me-" Riza stopped short, after she accidentally bumped into someone, lost in her thoughts as she was.

"Ah, good day to you Lieutenant General Hawkeye." A sickly smooth voice greeted her and Riza didn't need to look to know who the owner of the honeyed voice was.

Lieutenant General Raven.

She bowed briefly, "Lieut. Gen. Raven, nice to see you." It wasn't nice at all but pleasantries were part of the job.

The older man grinned widely, chuckling, "Oh on the contrary, it's a pleasure to see you." His eyes roved over her figure from head to toe and Riza tried not to notice the action, "We work in the same building and yet my eyes rarely get to enjoy the sight of beauty such as you." He covered his mouth coyly, "Oh how rude of me, you are a married woman, are you not." He chuckled, a sickening sound that sent Riza's stomach churning.

If only the thought of the wedding ring on her finger protected her as much as the gun strapped to her hip from this lecherous fool-

"May I request to invite you to a nice cup of coffee? It's almost time for lunch, a shared meal between _friends_ is highly welcome, don't you think?" the look in his eyes served to tell her lunch wasn't the only thing on his mind and Riza's gaze quickly fixed itself towards the general direction of her office.

"My apologies sir, but there is still important documents that need sign-"

His broad hand found her back and gently pushed her towards the other direction, his office, "Oh dear, oh dear, it looks like you could use a bit time off work." The too large grin on his aging face remained, "Important documents, you say?"

Riza held her tongue from saying something inappropriate to the sleezy man, "Simple transfer files."

Something changed in his eyes then and his gaze moved forward, "You mean the reinforcement troops scheduled for General Mustang?"

Riza's step faltered, her heel digging into the ground only to be forced forward by the push against her back, her eyes flying open in surprise, "You… knew…" her heart sped up in alarm.

There was a deep throaty chuckle, too high to be controlled, but too aggravated to hide it's sinister nature and the fingers pressed against her back dug into her spine more forcefully. Her hand slowly moved to the gun at her hip, until she noticed the eerie smile on the man's face.

"Of course, I did." A dark chill slowly trickled down her spine, like a coiling snake ready to strike, "I issued the order." The hand fell from her back and Riza's breath caught in her throat as the man walked forward slowly, "We can't send anymore soldiers to the battlefront. We need a certain amount of men here for safeguarding as well as performing their duties to the country." His hands clenched into fists at his lower back.

Despite the implications of his words, Riza still said, "But sir, the dispatch troop should have already arrived, General Mustang is in dire need of supplies and new soldiers, the South still has soldiers to spare."

Raven suddenly laughed in mock embarrassment, waving his hand, "Oh? Is that so? My _mistake_ , Lieutenant General."

His retreating footsteps were the only thing Riza's ears picked up aside from her own erratically beating heart.

* * *

He had beaten at least half of their forces and he wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Buccaneer impaled an unfortunate soul on his mighty automail claw, "Ha! If you think a couple of headless fools will be enough to take _me_ down you've got another thing coming!" he tackled three soldiers dead on, stomping them to the ground while evading a spray of bullets from an invisible soldier hiding behind the thick storm.

"Show yourselves you cowards!" the whole squadron of soldiers was now nowhere visible, Buccaneer had cleared at least a hundred of them, maybe more, but where was the rest?

A sudden shrill sound made him roar in agony, clutching at his ears, his military issued phone blaring at his hip, Olivier's voice booming clear through the noise, " _Buccaneer! Head to the Fort immediatel-!"_

A deafening sound made his senses go numb before his whole body felt weightless, he registered the icy chill on his face, the sting of the snow as it whipped past his bare skin, he also felt pain from somewhere, his ears, his legs, he didn't know.

And suddenly, his eyes focused into vision again.

He was soaring through the air, there was smoke where his previous position was, he was heading straight towards the forest.

Buccaneer wrapped his arms around his head and tucked his legs into his stomach, ignoring his screaming muscles as his body hit something solid and he fell to the ground.

Unmoving.

 **I'm sorry this is so short, but the next chapter will be a little bit more action packed.**


End file.
